The Feel of A Heartbeat
by QueenY C
Summary: What if fate hadn't thrown a tumor-shaped monkey wrench into Brennan's plans for a baby? What if Booth had agreed to be her donor? An AU look at how one tiny life changes everything. A series of one-shots with a linear plot.
1. Chapter 1

**Story: The Feel of A Heartbeat**

**Author: QueenyC**

**Chapter One: Two Little Words**

**A/N: So, I know that all my HP readers who have me on alert are now plotting my demise. Let me take a moment to raise my white flag and beg forgiveness. I couldn't help it. I've been watching re-runs of Bones waiting for the premiere and this story just lodged itself into my brain and refused to budge until I put it on paper (er...computer screen?). So, anyway, hope everyone enjoys. This is very different from what I've done in the past and I'm a little unsure. Feedback is always welcome! Thanks. **

_Need you here now._

That was the cryptic text message his partner had sent him less the fifteen minutes ago.

He knew it must be urgent. Bones made a point to not "need" anybody ever.

He didn't need to ask where "here" was and he didn't stop to explain his sudden escape from the Hoover building. He did, refusing to feel guilt at what he was sure Bones would call an "abuse of power," flip on his lights and sirens and cross the busy D.C. lunch traffic towards her apartment in record time.

Now he was breathing a little heavy after bounding up the stairs of her apartment, screw her elevator, and keying into her apartment with the spare she'd given him over a year ago for emergencies.

The apartment was quiet, but then, this was Bones and it wasn't like she was the sort of person to keep the music blaring or the television (not that she owned one) on.

Closing the door behind himself and sliding the deadbolt into place out of habit, he called for her cautiously.

"In here," he voice came quietly from the bathroom.

Sighing, he followed her call and pressed the door open to find a most unexpected site. It wouldn't have really been all that strange, in fact he'd once found Rebecca in almost the exact same position — leaning against the tub, knees tucked to her chest, hands knotted and teeth wearing through her lip diligently — except, _come on_, this was Bones. Nervous looked decidedly odd on her.

"The verdict," he asked, carefully pulling his thoughts away from whatever his hopes might be. He'd decided that, in this situation, keeping his desires out of the equation worked best. Every time he took a moment to analyze it all he felt a decidedly insistent migraine coming on and an odd breathless tightening in his chest which he just wasn't up for dissecting.

From her place on the floor Bones looked up at him and shrugged, motioning vaguely to the little pink stick on the ledge of her bathroom sink. "I...haven't checked yet."

"Okay." He paused. "Did you want me to..."

She shrugged again. "This is absurd," she told him, the authority in her voice rather adorable as she struggled, as usual, with her own emotions. "It's not as if I can't just try again. I just..."

"Want this to have worked? I'd say that's pretty normal, Bones," Booth said reassuringly, squatting down in front of her to catch her perfect blue eyes.

"I don't like feeling like this," she admitted like she was revealing some sort of secret. Like he didn't know everything about the woman by now.

"Emotions are a good thing, Bones," he chided gently.

"I took it just before I texted you," she said, suddenly changing gears as she was want to do with that superbrain of hers. "I think more than a sufficient amount of time has passed, but—"

"You're afraid to look."

She nodded honestly.

"We could check it together," he offered.

She nodded again and watched as he rose to his feet seamlessly and then offered her a hand up. He was a little surprised when she didn't let go as she turned to the sink and lifted the stick with her eyes screwed shut.

"I'm not the scientist here," he teased, "But I'm pretty sure you have to open your eyes to read things."

She smiled shakily and then, with a deep breath, opened her eyes and looked down at the indicator stick in her hands. She was quiet so long that the suspense was killing him and he forced himself to gaze down at the tiny pink plus sign himself.

A jolt shot through him, unique and yet familiar. And then her beautiful blue eyes were gazing up at him, an unobstructed smile splitting her face, and her arms wrapped tightly around his neck.

"I'm pregnant," she squealed in the girliest, least Brennan-like voice he'd ever heard.

Booth chuckled and tried not to feel all the emotions swelling inside of him. Because this was for her, dammnit and he needed to remember that. He had agreed to be her sperm donor and make her a mommy. And, _yes_, if he was being honest with himself it was a stupid and selfish decision because, _yes_, maybe he had been feeling towards his partner emotions that were _not_ strictly business, but that was okay if he remembered that she had wanted this. She had asked him. She had chosen him. And if that was the closest he would ever get to Temperance Brennan's heart, well, he'd just have to take what he could get.

**~BB~**

"Sweetie," Angela said, interrupting Brennan's admittedly not very productive thoughts at her computer. "You've practically been glowing since you got back from lunch. Did you and Agent Studly finally have a round of sheet olympics?"

Brennan rolled her eyes at her best friend but couldn't keep the smile off of her face as the brunette swayed into the room and perched at the corner of her desk as usual.

"Ange, can you keep a secret?"

Her friend's eyes bulged comically from her head. "Oh my God, you _did_!"

Now Brennan was confused. "Did what," she asked with raised eyebrows. Trying to keep current with Angela's musings had often left her feeling dizzy and confused.

"Did _it_! With Booth!"

"I assume," Brennan chuckled, "By 'it' you mean sexual intercourse in which case, I'm sorry to disappoint you Angela, but I have not."

Angela looked crestfallen. "Then what's the big secret?"

Brennan grinned wider. "I shouldn't tell anyone since it's really too early to be certain of anything, and even then it ought to be Cam that I inform first, but I find myself unexpectedly excited and in desperate need to share the news with someone."

Angela looked like she might pass out. "If you don't tell me something soon Bren I'm gonna die from anticipation."

"I am pregnant," Brennan said, not wanting to cause her closest friend any pain. Thinking quickly, Brennan just managed to slap a hand over Angela's mouth before the exuberant artist screamed and alerted the entire lab to the situation.

When it seemed like she could contain herself, Brennan removed her hand and welcomed Angela's breathless words of excitement. "Oh my God, Sweetie that is wonderful news!" The girl stood up and began dancing excitedly around the room. "And it's Booth's right? I mean, this isn't one of those 'oops' things? This is from the insemination?"

Brennan nodded in the affirmative.

"Does he know?"

"Of course, Angela. Booth and I have already agreed that he will take part in the entire process and be a part of the baby's life," Brennan acknowledged.

Angela, for some unexplainable reason, rolled her eyes. "You guys are so hopeless," she sighed. Then a grin split her face. "But I'm _so_ excited!"

"I find that I am excited as well," Brennan agreed readily, allowing Angela to pull her into a tight hug.

She supposed it was hormones, which she knew were already beginning to change her body, to make it ready and hospitable for the fetus growing inside of her (of course, Booth would never allow her to call it a 'fetus' and would insist that it was a 'baby' long before it could actually be called such). She tried to convince herself that the giddy feelings inside of her, the odd swooping sensation she got when she realized that there was something growing inside of her that was part of her partner, was all due to the rising levels of estrogen throughout her system and not the way she seemed to always feel an odd longing to be near him these days. Because this was just about having a child, about passing down her admirable traits and melding them with the traits of the only man she'd ever been able to put her entire trust into. That was all.


	2. Chapter 2

**Story: The Feel of a Heartbeat**

**Author: QueenyC**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bones or any of the charters or locations affiliated with it. If I did, I'd be doing more with them then posting stories in fan fiction.**

**A/N: Wow! I am OVERWHELMED by the number of review that poured in for this story! Truly! You guys are fantastic! This chapter still feels a bit sticky to me, I'm not sure if I like this direction or not. Let me know what y'all think. On a different note, did we all see the season premiere last night? Thoughts? I think my heart broke when Booth told Brennan about Hannah! **

**Chapter Two: Truth and Lies**

Booth watched his eight-year-old son as he climbed through the jungle gym at the local park with experienced ease, perching at the top with a proud wave before offering a hand up to his play companion, a pretty little red-head named Sarah.

Booth grinned, his heart swelling with the pride of knowing that he'd raised his son well to be respectful and helpful and courteous. Everyone was always quick to assure him of this. And Parker was a smart, well-adjusted kid too. He seemed to instinctively understand things far beyond his age when it came to people and their emotions. Booth wondered if Bones would tell him traits like that were genetic. He wondered if their baby (God, he needed to quit thinking of it that way) would develop a similar understanding of human emotions or if it would be more like Bones: analytical and adorably hopeless.

At the thought of her and the baby, his stomach knotted unpleasantly. For Parker this was just a Saturday at the park, but for Booth it was long past time to get something over with.

In all fairness, he should really have done it weeks ago. Bones had already (with the same blunt manner she addressed everything) informed Cam, her father and Sweets of her pregnancy. Their partnership was under (as always) the continued review of Sweets in case things got too awkward. Booth only had one job and, to be fair, it wasn't like anyone could've done it for him. Tell Parker.

Tell Parker about a baby that was somehow his sibling and, somehow, something completely unlike a sibling too.

And Booth had no idea how to go about this but, with Bones almost a full month into the pregnancy now, was starting feel like an ass for not doing it sooner.

"Hey, Dad," Parker called, trotting up and cutting into Booth's circling thought cycle. "Can we get ice cream before we go home?"

Booth grinned and ruffled his son's hair affectionately. "Sure, Bub."

"Yes," Parker said, pulling his arm back in the universal 'cha-ching' action. "Bye Sarah," he called to the little red-head as he scooped his backpack up and tossed it over one shoulder.

"Bye Parker," the little girl called back with a toothy grin and batting eyelashes. Booth rolled his eyes. Just what he needed, a little lady-charmer on his hands. Becca would insist this was somehow all his fault.

They pulled up outside of their favorite ice cream shop, a Swirlee Treats, and it was only when Booth shut the car off that he realized how silent Parker had grown.

"You okay, Bub?" He asked carefully.

"Are _you_ okay, Dad," Parker countered with a raised eyebrow. Booth sat back a little surprised.

"Uh, sure, Buddy. Why?"

Parker shrugged, lifting an eyebrow and, dear God, doing that little head-cocking thing that Bones sometimes did when she was puzzling through an I-don't-know-what-that-means moment. Clearly these two were spending too much time together.

"You've been quiet all day," Parker said calmly. "Bones says you're only quiet when you're angry or trying to hide something."

"She does huh?" Booth scowled a little at both the knowledge of how well the otherwise emotionally-clueless scientist knew him and the fact that she was training his kid to read him as well.

Parker nodded sagely. "So, what's up Dad?"

"What would be up, Park?"

There was a pause and then, "Bones was sick at breakfast this morning," Parker remarked suddenly. Feeling distinctly like he was caught in a trap, Booth nodded. Yes, he admitted, Bones had gotten sick this morning after joining them for breakfast at the diner. He'd taken her home before he and Parker headed to the park.

"Sometimes people get sick, Bub, it doesn't mean anything bad," Booth assured his son gently because, God, the last thing he wanted to do was discuss morning sickness with his eight-year-old son. There was nothing in the parenting books about explaining their unique situation to a child. He'd checked.

Parker shrugged. "I've never seen Bones sick and we've known her for years, Dad."

"That's true," Booth hedged.

"Dad," Parker sighed, turning to face his father suddenly with a very grown up nod of understanding. "What's going on?"

And Booth knew this was one of those defining moments people like to talk about. He'd always been as honest and open with his son as possible, something that he credited for Parker's excellent behavior.

_All or nothing._

"Well, Buddy," Pause, "Bones is pregnant," he said honestly, holding his breath for the fallout.

Parker lifted his eyebrow quizzically. "But who's the daddy?"

_Oh, God._

"I am," Booth sighed.

_Just be honest and be calm, Seeley._

"You are?" Now, at least, there was something resembling an eight-year-old child staring back at him. "Dad? Are you and Bones having sex?"

Booth nearly choked on his own tongue. He so wasn't ready for this conversation.

"What do you know about _sex_, Park?"

Parker raised a sardonic eyebrow. "Dad, we get cable. And I go to public school. Plus, Bones has told me all sorts about mating rituals in different tribes around the world."

Booth made a mental note to remind his partner that Parker was still in elementary school. Then he sighed, "It's complicated, Buddy," Booth said carefully, trying to think of a way to not sound like a crazy person. "Bones wanted to have a baby and asked for my help."

"So you did have sex?"

"What? No, Park! Stop using that word or your mother will murder me...I just...helped, okay?"

Parker sighed and Booth had a funny feeling he was planning to ask Bones about all of this later.

"Anyway. The baby will live with Bones, it'll be her baby and my baby, but we're not together. Understand?"

"Sort of like you and Mom," Parker nodded.

"Uh...sure." Booth nodded, unsure of whether his relationship with his partner was more or less complicated than his relationship with the mother of his son.

"Okay, cool," Parker nodded, totally adjusted. He opened the door to the SUV and slid out. Curiosity satisfied, he was back to focusing on the ice cream issue. Booth shook his head and followed his son up to the window thinking he should probably take Bones' advice and start giving his kid a little more credit.

**~BB~**

They were at her apartment again, a more and more frequent occurrence since the day she'd given Booth a key to her apartment's pool house. Also magnified now by the pregnancy which Angela, Cam and Sweets all seemed to insist was truly unique.

Brennan didn't really see it that way.

She'd wanted a baby. Booth, a strong, healthy intelligent man, was the best viable option for a sperm donor. She refused to see any more or less to it than that.

Still, she wasn't going to lie (at least not to herself), it was nice having the Booth boys over most weekends. They would play out in the pool for hours. Sometimes she joined in, but mostly sat by the edge and caught up on her scientific journals. Then the trio would file into her place for lunch (or dinner if Parker was convincing enough to keep them outside that long) before they headed home. After the fourth mentioning from Parker, Brennan had even broken down and purchased a television for her place.

This afternoon though, they hadn't come over for a swim. Instead, they'd attempted a breakfast at the diner (it would be a long time before she looked at eggs the same way, that was certain) and then the boys had gone to the park.

She'd been surprised when, two hours later, they'd showed back up at her door. She'd been surprised, but oddly comforted and (dare she admit it) completed by the idea of them spending the rest of their evening with her.

"You didn't have to come back and check on me," Brennan had told Booth once Parker was out of earshot and flipping through channels on the TV. Her partner handed her a bottle of gingerale at the doorway.

"Parker insisted," Booth told her with a grin.

"That was thoughtful of him," Brennan nodded, trying to read the look gracing Booth's impressive features.

"He also now knows about the baby."

"Oh?" And suddenly, inexplicably, she was very nervous.

"It's fine, Bones," Booth said gently, brushing a strand of her hair back from her face in reassurance. Sometimes she was torn between hating and loving how easily he read her.

"Fine?"

"Yes. Parker is okay with everything. I explained how the situation was. He knows we're not in love or anything and — hey, you okay?" Booth stared at her in concern as Brennan attempted and (of course) managed to cover her falter quickly.

"Just nauseous still," she lied (her first real lie to him) and stepped back from him and the door to allow Booth fully into the apartment.

Booth frowned curiously but seemed to accept this excuse. "Try the gingerale. The lady at the pharmacy swore by it," he promised before going in hunt of his son.

Brennan took a deep breath as he passed by her, an odd clenching feeling in her heart which she wished, truly wished, would just go away. Because Booth was right. They _weren't_ in love. So why had that hurt so much to hear.


	3. Chapter 3

**Story: The Feel of A Heartbeat**

**Author: QueenyC**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bones or any of the charters or locations affiliated with it. If I did, I'd be doing more with them then posting stories in fan fiction.**

**A/N: You guys are perfectly awesome! I'm so excited that everyone is loving this little side project I've begun! Everybody just hold on with me! Pregnancy isn't just a walk in the park and nothing that Booth and Bones do is every easy, so they're in for a bumpy ride! I hope you all enjoy it!**

**Chapter Three: What's Mine is Yours**

"Booth, it's fine," Brennan said for what had to be the fifth time in as many minutes, a hard edge in her voice. She looked up from the body she'd been examining with a scowl to her partner.

"Bones, it's _not_ fine! Everyone else may be willing to tip-toe around this issue, but I'm _not_! Jesus, why do you always have to be so stubborn?"

Brennan scowled at Booth, lifting her hands from the edge of the examining table where they'd been resting and placing them on her hips angrily. "_I'm_ stubborn? You're the one who won't just let me work!"

"I don't care if you work, Bones, just not on this case!" This was turning into a full-blown shouting match.

"Why not?" And, rather childishly she would reflect, Brennan stamped her foot down petulantly.

"Because the victim was pregnant, Bones! Like you!" Booth shouted angrily, stepping towards her to invade her space. "Conflict of interest, much?"

"A lot of women are pregnant, Booth! I'm not an invalid."

"I never said you were!"

"The implication was clear! I don't believe in psychology! This body is no different than any other for me!"

"Bones, I'm telling you now, no! I don't want you working this case!"

"And what right do you have to boss me around," Brennan pushed her hands against his chest furiously. Not that it did much to move him. The man was like a solid wall, especially when he was angry.

"What _right_? What right?"

"Yes!" She screamed up into his face.

"How about that fact that half of that baby is mine, huh, Bones?"

His words hit her like a slap in the face.

"Okay! Time out!" Cam stepped carefully up to the quarreling partners, her hands forming a referee's 'T' and her eyes darting between the two of them with wary expression. "Maybe everyone should take ten," she suggested.

"Ten what?" Brennan asked, her overwhelming anger with Booth warring with her confusion and an odd rushing in her ears.

"Minutes, Bones," Booth sighed, taking a small step back. "Ten _minutes_."

"To cool off," Cam clarified.

It was only then that Brennan looked up and found Wendell, Angela and Jack fleeing the platform for their respective offices without a backward glance. Shame and embarrassment, two emotions she was not very well acquainted with, flooded her and she took her own step back from her partner and crossed her arms over her chest.

Cam watched her reatreat and then turned to Booth with a scowl. "If you two think you can sort this like adults, I'll be in my office."

Booth didn't respond, but nodded his understanding. For a minute, a long, painful one, Brennan just stared at her shoes and tried not to think about how angry she was, or he was. She tried not to feel the guilt washing up thorugh her stomach, leaving her nauseous and woozy.

She nearly hit the ceiling when his hands were suddenly, unexpectedly on her biceps squeezing gently.

He sighed. "I'm sorry, Bones. I didn't mean to yell."

"No," Brennan shook her head, hating this sinking feeling of guilt as she looked up into his eyes. Booth had never been anything but honest and supportive of her. How could she treat him like he had no say in her life, or in the baby's? "You're right, Booth. This baby _is_ half yours—"

"Bones," she could hear the regret in his voice, "I didn't mean it like that."

"But it _is_ true. I'm sorry. I should've realized..."

"Hey," Booth said gently, his fingers lighting under her chin to lift her face. "This baby isn't _mine_ or _yours_, okay. It's ours. That was the agreement. Equal partnership. Just like always, right?"

"Right," she sighed. For a minute, just one weak moment, she allowed herself to gaze up into his warm brown eyes and imagine a life where she wasn't herself and he wasn't himself and she was allowed to do this all the time, just get lost there. Then she shook herself mentally. "We should probably get back to work then."

Booth coughed a little and stepped back. "Yeah. Back to work."

Brennan ignored the chill at the loss of his touch.

Before she stepped away, she looked up at him carefully, catching his eye. Booth had taught her the importance of eye contact. "I really am fine, Booth," she told him honestly. Because she was. Because she had to be. Because this pregnant woman on her lab table deserved some sort of justice for all the possibilities that had been robbed from her and Brennan was the best in her business. She was the only one who could give her that justice.

"I know. You're Wonder Woman," Booth grinned softly. "I have faith in you, you know. I just...it's my job to worry about you. Somebody has to keep an eye out."

Brennan couldn't keep herself from smirking at him. "By those rights, I ought to be 'keeping an eye out' for you as well."

"You do, Bones," Booth sighed.

_Because we're partners_, she thought sadly.


	4. Chapter 4

**Story: The Feel of A Heartbeat**

**Author: QueenyC**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bones or any of the charters or locations affiliated with it. If I did, I'd be doing more with them then posting stories in fan fiction.**

**A/N: Okay, okay, don't get used to this or anything, but I decided to go ahead and send out another chapter for you all since you've been so wonderful and supportive of this project (P.S., In only three chapters I've gotten almost double the number of reviews I got for my entire Harry Potter fanfic which leads me to believe that either A) my writing has seriously improved in the last couple of months, or B) Bones fans are religious reviewers). Seriously, you guys have gotten me addicted to checking my reviews! Thanks! Hope you enjoy!**

**Chapter Four: Constant Cravings**

"Bones?" His voice was thick and gravely with sleep and she hesitated, instantly regretting her decision to call him. "Bones? You okay?"

"I'm hungry," Brennan said finally. Admittedly not her best opening line.

On the other end of the line she heard Booth make a noise somewhere between aggravation and amusement. "It's three in the morning, Bones."

"I'm aware, Booth," she frowned. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have called. It's just...well, you said..."

"To call me if you needed anything," he finished, comprehension in his voice.

"Yes," she frowned. "I didn't want to wake you, it's just, well, I wanted ice cream. And they don't deliver. And you told me not to go walking after dark, so..."

"You're right," he said gently over the phone. "I did say all those things. Thank you for listening to me."

"I always listen, Booth," she argued. "Always."

She could hear his smile through the phone at that. "What flavor ice cream did you want?"

"Peanut butter."

"Gross!"

"Pregnant women are known to have very illogical cravings."

"Just spare me the pickle phase, will you?"

"I don't like pickles," she said, her face scrunching up in confusion.

He laughed. "I'll be over in fifteen minutes with peanut butter ice cream. Anything else?"

"Just your company," she replied before she could stop herself.

There was a moment's hesitation. "You always have that, Bones."

By the time he was knocking on her door, Brennan had crawled out of her bed, flipped on the living room and kitchen lights, brushed her hair into a neater ponytail and was now sitting on her couch flipping through one of the pregnancy books her sister-in-law had given her.

"Peanut butter ice cream, as ordered," Booth announced, letting himself in with his key and locking the door behind him. He passed her a small tub and went into her kitchen for a spoon.

"What did you get," she asked, peeking into the paper bag he'd set on the coffee table.

"An apple turnover," Booth responded, coming back into the room and joining her on the couch.

"It smells wonderful," she admitted.

Booth's eyebrows disappeared into his hairline. "It's cooked fruit, Bones."

She ignored him and, without invitation, fished his turnover out and took a bite, moaning in ecstasy as the pie passed her lips. God, it was like eating a slice of heaven (not that she believed in such a place).

"Hey," Booth cried in indignation, reaching for the turnover with an accusing glare. "My food! You don't like cooked fruit."

"Apparently," Brennan sighed apologetically, "The baby does."

He gave her one of his most disarming smiles then, the ones that seemed to make her knees go weak these days, "That's not fair, Bones," he told her with a shake of his head. "What kind of man argues with a pregnant lady?"

"The hungry kind, I imagine," she replied, still feeling a little guilty. She opened her pint of peanut butter ice cream and spooned out a generous serving, taking it in one bite. It was good, but not nearly as good as that turnover had been.

Booth chuckled and her, shaking his head at some inside thought. "You win," he sighed, relinquishing his baked, fruity goodness to her.

Brennan shook her head, "No, Booth," she told him, "I will not eat your food. I wasn't trying to trick you out of it."

"I know," he grinned, leaning into her shoulder comfortably. "You didn't have to. When will I ever get to see you eat pie if not now?"

Brennan scowled. "This is _not_ pie."

"Bones, _that_ is hand-held pie," he teased. "And you should be honored. I only share pie with people I really, really like."

Brennan rolled her eyes. "And women who are carrying your child," she added, giving up all pretenses and taking another large bite from his turnover. She moaned again. _God, this thing is incredible._

Booth just shook his head again and chuckled a little to himself, draping his arm casually over her shoulder and tucking her into his side.

"What are you grinning about?" Brennan asked with a quirked eyebrow, offering Booth some of her peanut butter ice cream in return for his turnover.

"Blech," Booth shook his head, pushing the tub gently away from his face. Then he turned to her, his eyes bright for such a late hour, "You're really pretty adorable, Bones," he told her.

"You're laughing at me," Brennan frowned accusingly.

"I would never do that," Booth vowed, not quite succeeding in maintaining a straight face.

"Well now you're just lying," she huffed.

"Shut up and watch the TV, huh, Bones," Booth replied with another bump to her shoulder.

"Alright, alright, you don't have to be so bossy," Brennan laughed.

"Hey, you steal my food, you deal with me being grumpy." He smiled and wiggled his eyebrows to assure her he was kidding.

Brennan rolled her eyes, "I thought you weren't the sort of man to argue with a pregnant woman," she quipped.

**~BB~**

Booth woke up in the middle of the night, sitting straight up in a desperate, glistening sweat. He glanced to the empty spot beside him and sighed in exasperation.

_This is ridiculous. _

He scrubbed his hands over his face roughly and laid back down, trying not to be hyper aware of the lack of body beside him.

Recently, things between him and his partner had become oddly domestic. Sweets had been all over him about his 'feeling' regarding Bones' pregnancy.

"I understand that the two of you have been spending a lot of time together," he'd opened with just two days ago, effectively cornering Booth in his office.

"Sweets, she's my best friend, we always spend time together."

"So you're not having thoughts of becoming more with Dr. Brennan. With the family that is possible through this baby?"

Sometimes Booth really hated the boy-psychologist. "Everything is fine just the way it is Sweets," he'd insisted.

And everything was fine.

Everything but this. That stupid four feet of neglected space at the other side of his bed.

It drove him crazy.

She'd been pregnant for a month now. One, horrible, wonderful month. And, my God, did he have it bad for her.

If he hadn't thought this was a bad idea before, now he was absolutely certain that he'd made a mistake. At least ten times a day he would stop and ask himself why he seemed so intent on self-destruction. How could he have thought that this wouldn't change things between them?

And God help him if she wasn't the most adorable pregnant woman he'd ever seen in his life.

And why couldn't he stop thinking things like that?

He groaned and rolled pointedly over, turning his back to the Empty Space, which has somehow become an entity all it's own, complete with capital letters.

Bones was surely back in her apartment, sleeping soundly. She'd always been so content to be alone. But who was watching out for her?

Okay, so that was a stupid thought. Bones could more than look out for herself. But, as he was always trying to explain to her, it wasn't that he doubted her abilities, he just didn't think she should have to. Someone should always have loved her enough to have watched out for her. He could at least blame _someone_ for that oversight.

Flopping onto his back and trying to turn his brain in any direction that didn't involve a certain auburn-haired anthropologist, he began to rattle off the saints in his head.

St. Christopher, St. Agnes, St. Michael, St. Theresa... St. Temperance.

"Dammit," he muttered. He wished his heart would stop yearning for her.


	5. Chapter 5

**Story: The Feel of A Heartbeat**

**Author: QueenyC**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bones or any of the charters or locations affiliated with it. If I did, I'd be doing more with them then posting stories in fan fiction.**

**A/N: OMG! I'm back with another chapter! I'm seriously not sure how I feel about this one-shot. Something still feels off but, honestly, I'm tired of tweaking it. So here it is, the best that I've got. And since it's short, I'll be posting two chapters today. Also, did everyone watch last nights Jersery Shore episode? Can you spell 'growth,' Temperance? I was so proud of her 'want you to be sure' speech! She is just incredible!**

**Chapter Five: Mushy**

"Bones, _je_-sus, be careful," he sighed, watching his partner, his pregnant partner, pick through the wreckage of the burnt house fearlessly.

"Booth, pregnancy does not interfere with my ability to walk," She told him exasperatedly without even looking back.

"Yeah, I know, Bones," he replied, following her with a roll of his eyes. One of the techs walking by gave him a cheeky smile and Booth fought the urge to punch him squarely in the jaw. "We all know you're Miss Independent, okay? Just humor a guy, will you?"

Sighing in resignation she stopped her quick pace, allowing him to catch up and then take the lead. She even, to his great surprise, allowed him to help her over some of the ceiling fallen ceiling beams along their path.

By the time they reached the body, Booth was feeling decidedly overheated. The structure, while long since put out of flames, was still retaining a lot of heat and the trek through the debris had not been easy. Brennan brushed a hand across her forehead and gave one long huff of exhaustion before kneeling next to the crispy remains of what had once been a human.

"Victim is female," she said after a moment, "I'd say between 18 and 24. Caucasian."

Booth nodded. That all fit the profile of the owner's daughter who had been reported missing this morning. "Can you tell if she played any sports?"

Brennan rolled her eyes at him.

"Right, sorry, of course you can."

She nodded, appeased by this response and turned back to the body. "Wear on the elbow suggests a tennis player," she told him. "Also, there's remodeling on the tibia which indicates a childhood break."

Booth nodded, "That all fits the info we have on the daughter."

"Angela will be able to give us a visual confirmation," she stood up. "I can't say for certain, Booth, but this looks accidental."

Booth nodded, making a note in the pad. "That'll do for now, Bones. I'm melting. Let's get the techs to round everything up and get out of here."

An hour later they were at the diner as usual, her with a soup and salad and Booth with his traditional burger and extra fries.

But Bones was only picking at her food and he frowned in worry. "Something on you mind there, Bones?"

She stirred the tomato soup before her methodically. "Do I look fat," she asked suddenly.

Booth felt his eyes grow wide as saucers, taking in his beautiful partner, her eyes cast down in a rare show of embarrassment.

"That's crazy, Bones. You're nearly three months pregnant. It's very different than fat," he told her, reaching across the space between them to squeeze her hand reassuringly.

She frowned. "But I don't look good. Like a used to."

"You look great, Bones." Booth was certain that this must be some sort of sugar-and-television-induced dream. Bones never cared about her appearance or what people thought of her. Except, apparently, she did.

"Hodgins said that things get mushy and shapeless when you get pregnant," she frowned.

"He told you that," Booth asked, planning to have a serious conversation with the Bug Man when he saw him next.

"Not to me, to Angela, when she was talking about having a baby. Still," Bones looked down at her stomach sadly, "Am I getting mushy and shapeless?"

Booth let all his breath out in a whoosh. "There is nothing even remotely mushy or shapeless about you, okay," he promised, catching her eye to impart his sincerity.

She nodded after a minute. "I know that I am an attractive woman but I still feel fat," she admitted candidly, because even if she was feeling self-conscious, she was still Bones, after all.

Booth grinned. "You're beautiful, Bones. Trust me."

She nodded then and took a spoonful of her soup. Booth sighed internally at having apparently said the right thing. He made a mental note to remind all of the squints in Bones' life to tread gently on the body-image issue until she'd given birth. Squints, he thought in annoyance, could be such a pain in his ass.

**~BB~**

Standing naked in her bathroom, Brennan sighed, looking down at the small protrusion of her belly, the swelling of a child forming inside of her.

It was, as Sweets had said earlier that week, 'totally bizarro.'

She sighed, "I know that, rationally, you can't hear me," she told the fetus within her, looking down at her belly with a thoughtful frown. "But Booth says that I should start talking to you so that you will learn my voice."

Of course, as she'd expected, there was no sort of response from her middle region, but she continued anyway.

"Normally, I'd brush this off, but Booth's advice is almost never wrong," she admitted grudgingly, "And he's certainly got a way with children."

She frowned. "Maybe I shouldn't be calling him Booth around you? He is technically your father."

Stopping the ridiculous practice before she felt anymore foolish, she pulled the pins out of her hair and let it fall down her back. Then she turned to the full-length mirror along her bathroom door and studied her profile. The 'baby bump' wasn't nearly as pronounced as she felt it was sometimes. She ran her hand over it. Having just begun to show, she often felt like there was a giant red arrow hanging over her stomach. When she'd timidly mentioned this to Booth he'd scoffed. You're beautiful, Bones, trust me.

"Your daddy," she confided to the baby, running her hand along the small expanse of skin that covered it, "Is a wonderful man, you know that? I hope that you're like him."


	6. Chapter 6

**Story: The Feel of A Heartbeat**

**Author: QueenyC**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bones or any of the charters or locations affiliated with it. If I did, I'd be doing more with them then posting stories in fan fiction.**

**Chapter Six: ****Invigorated and Exhausted**

Brennan was exhausted.

And, man, did that send her into a bad mood quicker than anything.

She was not used to her body giving out on her, not used to being forced to take breaks (both by Booth and her body's own limits), not used to feeling like her limbs had been cut open and filled with lead.

Thinking all of this though, only seemed to make her more tired, and she didn't have time for that right now. The call had, unfortunately, come in late in the afternoon and by the time they'd gotten the remains to the Jeffersonian it was already after six.

Hodgins had already collected his particulates and left with his wife in tow. Cam too had done her part, gleaning what little she could from the sparse remaining tissue, and had left with Brennan's promise to follow her out shortly. Now, though, Brennan needed to do her cursory exam before they could begin the de-fleshing and she could finally rest her aching feet for a few hours.

"Bones," Booth's voice drew her away from her remains warily.

"Booth," she nodded to him as he marched up to the platform, swiping his card quickly. He already had that tone.

"What are you doing, Bones?" Hands on his hips, full of exasperation.

"My job," she told him, resisting the urge to shout. Her hormones had already left several people around the lab quaking in her wake. She supposed lesser interns might've just burst into tears.

"I can see that," He nodded, "but it's after seven now. You need to eat dinner and go home."

"I _need_ to do a cursory exam so that we can begin the de-fleshing and solve a murder," she said tightly.

"Do it in the morning, Bones," he requested softly.

"This man has been dead approximately six weeks, I assume time is of the essence, Booth."

"It can wait over night, Bones. I promise. We'll get the bad guy like always, but you're dead on your feet," He argued, again with that gentle voice that he'd been using lately to coerce her into taking things easy. He crossed the platform to her and rested a hand at her back, trying to lead her away.

"One cannot be 'dead on their feet,' Booth, and I'm _fine_," she argued, stepping out of his grasp and attempting to return to the examination table.

"Its just an expression, Bones. Come on, please let this go. I'm worried about you. You looked like you could've been knocked over by a feather five _hours_ ago at the scene. I know you're exhausted."

"I'm fine," she insisted again, but couldn't deny that her legs were threatening to give out on her soon. She wouldn't admit it to him, but she'd been up most of the previous night with morning sickness (a very poorly named side effect, in her opinion).

"Bones," Booth sighed and, for the first time Brennan could hear her own exhaustion echoing in his voice. He stepped into her space again and this time she didn't summon the energy to pull away as he brushed a strand of her hair back behind her ear leaving a shiver in her ski. "Please don't kill yourself over this, okay? You're gonna have to re-learn your limitations."

"I don't like having limitations," she admitted, giving in and resting her head against her best friend's chest.

"I know you don't," Booth nodded, running a comforting hand down her back. "But you're pregnant, Bones," he reminded her needlessly, resting his hand on her abdomen tenderly. "Sometimes, you're gonna have to do what Junior there wants, not what you do."

Brennan scrunched up her face in distaste. "_Junior_ is a horrible name," She replied, with a curled lip.

Booth laughed, his breath tickling her hair. It was only then that she realized her proximity to him and attempted a hesitant step back. Booth's arms around her waist held her fast though and, in spite of herself, Brennan couldn't really summon the desire to pull away further. "Well, we won't call it that anymore then, okay?"

She nodded into his chest, inhaling his comfort. This was the least tired she'd felt all day.

"Come on," He said then, leading her into her office and helping her with her coat and purse automatically. "I'm gonna take you out for a late dinner and then put you to bed—"

"That's hardly necessary."

"And maybe that little bundle of joy in there won't keep you up all night again."

"How did you know I was up all night?"

"Bones," Booth sighed in exasperation, ushering her out of the otherwise empty lab. "I know you, okay?"

Brennan just shrugged feeling suddenly much more invigorated as his hand came to rest at its usual place on the small of her back.


	7. Chapter 7

**Story: The Feel of A Heartbeat**

**Author: QueenyC**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bones or any of the charters or locations affiliated with it. If I did, I'd be doing more with them then posting stories in fan fiction.**

**A/N: This chapter is dedicated to my "Discriminating" fan and to all of my reviewers who have taken precious time out of their day to leave me a note of encouragement! Your words sometimes get me through the day! Thank you and I hope I continue to live up to your expectations!**

**Chapter Seven: All That Matters**

Booth was running late. A decidedly bad thing in general when it came to appointments with his partner and best friend, but exacerbated by Brennan's recent proclivity for raging mood swings.

Four months pregnant.

Sometimes he still couldn't believe it.

She was really starting to show now, a little baby bump in some of her favorite dresses that he knew would soon retire to the back of the closet for a while. A recent craving for burgers and steaks which seemed to simultaneously annoy and baffle her. She was practically glowing now, her hair and skin incandescent and her smiles (when she wasn't feeling in a particularly bad mood) were like moonbeams.

He pulled up outside of George Washington hospital and parked illegally, throwing his badge onto the dashboard to ward off any impending tickets. Four minutes later he was jogging into her OB/GYN's office only slightly out of breath.

Brennan didn't even look up and he took the opportunity to admire the way her hair fell around her face like an auburn curtain as she read through one of her anthropology journals. He frowned as the other moms-to-be around the room perused their parenting magazines and shot her odd glances.

Breathing out his frustration, he strode purposely to Brennan's side, grinning when she looked up with that adorable, infuriating scowl on her face. "You're late."

"Sorry," he breathed, "Got caught up with a case."

"What case," she asked. This had been an ongoing argument recently, with him insisting she start to ease out of field work and her insisting that if he didn't let her into the SUV she would drive herself to the scene.

"Nothing I'm keeping you out of, Bones," he promised, taking his seat next to her. "Occasionally I'm expected to do work without my brilliant scientist leading the way."

The compliment, paired with his infamous Charm Smile, seemed to work its magic and she smiled sheepishly. "So what are you working on?"

"Not sure yet," he shrugged. "Perotta called me in to consult," He noted Brennan's frown at the female agent's name and continued, "But I told her I had an appointment to keep."

This brought about a new smile, brighter than the last even. "That wasn't necessary Booth," she said despite her shit-eating grin, "You could've just called to tell me you wouldn't make it."

"What?" Booth sighed and wrapped his arm around her shoulder affectionately, "I told you, I'm in this. You aren't muscling me out the experience Miss Independent."

Brennan leaned into his embrace, surprising him when he felt her lips near his ear. "Everyone keeps staring at me," she confided sheepishly.

Glancing around he realized that, yes, all the other mommies were still staring speculatively. So she _had_ noticed, after all. "Only because you're so pretty," he teased.

Brennan, predictably, rolled her eyes at the compliment. "They don't seem jealous, Booth. They seem judgmental."

Booth did a double-take on that one. "You can tell the difference?"

She shrugged timidly. "I _do_ listen when you speak, you know? I've been taking lessons on human emotions from you for years now."

_God_, he thought, _why does she have to be so fucking adorable?_ He knew, and was honestly surprised that she hadn't called him on it yet, that he'd become more protective of her in the past months. Field work wasn't the only argument between them and keeping the woman full of food was damn near a government matter these days. But never had he really seen her as vulnerable until this moment with her gazing up at him, doe-eyed and, somehow despite her history, still innocent to the evils of others. And how the hell was he supposed to explain to her that those women were only judging her decisions _because_ of jealously? Because they could never do what she did. Because she was beautiful and independent and so, so smart.

"I wouldn't worry about those women, Bones," he told her instead. "They don't matter." Because nothing mattered to him these days but her and the unborn child inside of her.


	8. Chapter 8

**Story: The Feel of A Heartbeat**

**Author: QueenyC**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bones or any of the charters or locations affiliated with it. If I did, I'd be doing more with them then posting stories in fan fiction.**

**A/N: FYI, this one gets a little steamy in the second part. Consider yourselves warned! **

**Chapter Eight: Allowing a Fantasy**

"Why do they insist on making stuffed animals in the wrong colors?" Brennan asked for the millionth time since they'd entered the baby store twenty minutes ago.

"Bones," Booth chuckled, passing her a perfectly appropriate brown teddy bear. "Some people believe that children should be allowed to fantasize about purple elephants and blue kangaroos and princesses trapped in castles, okay? It's normal."

Brennan frowned, facing him with a pout and subconsciously resting her hand on her rounded belly. "But isn't that setting them up for failure, Booth?"

"What do you mean, Bones?" he asked, turning to face her fully, knowing that when she was puzzling through something she required his undivided attention.

She shrugged, "I just mean, children shouldn't believe in impossible things. _Logically_, there is no 'knight' coming to save them from their problems. Waiting around to be saved never did anyone any good."

It clicked in that moment, a wave of realization washing over him. A sad understanding of the irreparable damage that her parents and her brother had done to her. Because Bones was right, as usual. Nobody _had_ come to save her. Nobody had let her out of her metaphorical tower. She'd done all the work herself. And maybe — God, the thought made him sick — her insistence that the baby be surrounded by historically, anthropologically, anatomically accurate things was her way of protecting it from unrealistic expectations.

Without thinking about it, he pulled her tightly against his chest. She tensed for only a moment before allowing herself to melt into his warm, hard planes. "Bones," he told her gently, "_Temperance_, this baby will not suffer what you did. I promise you that, okay?" He said gently, pulling back to study her intense gaze. "I will make sure of that. I swear. So," he couldn't quite stop himself from running a hand soothingly along her cheek, "it's okay to let it have a little bit of fantasy in its life."

Her pretty blue eyes looked a little watery (which was okay, because he knew _he_ was fighting tears) when she pulled away from his embrace and nodded her acceptance of his words. "I trust you, Booth," she told him, picking up a bright blue kangaroo and tossing it into the cart as proof.

**~BB~**

"Bones, I love you," Booth whispered against her ear, sending an odd, warm shiver down her spine.

Until that moment, Brennan had never understood what people meant when they said their heart 'swelled,' though she'd at least accepted it as a logical possibility when compared to a heart 'breaking.' Now though, she threw all prior conceptions of the term aside. For her heart was surely growing, swelling, expanding in her chest. Her breath was shallow and her hands were trembling and, _my God_, she couldn't decide if this was pain or pleasure.

"Oh, Booth," she muttered, pressing her lips against his ear, whimpering desperately as he slid inside of her, filling her, claiming her.

For a feminist, she was surprised at how badly she wanted him to make her his. To mark her irrevocably as his own. To growl threateningly at the back of his throat when another man glanced her way.

Moving her hips in rhythm with his, she raked her nails down his back and nearly exploded with pleasure at the decidedly masculine grunt he made in response.

"Temperance," he gasped, saying her name like a prayer.

"Oh, oh, Seeley," she responded in kind as she felt a wave of euphoria crash over her, trembling and gasping and keening.

She opened her eyes and sighed sadly, rolling over to the empty side of her bed. Because, of course, Booth wasn't there. And this little fantasy of hers had been driving her crazy for the better part of two weeks. Ever since that slutty FBI secretary had made eyes at Booth as they bumped into her at the diner. And _why_ did that matter? Brennan honestly did not know. But it was driving her insane all the same.

Pregnancy, she knew, had a tendency to make one unbearably sexually charged. But there was no one to share her bed with and, the thought occurred to her rather suddenly, there was likely never to be anyone again. Men didn't seek out sexual relationships with moms, did they? They preferred free women. Uncomplicated, unattached women.

Brennan sighed again in aggravation, resting her hand against the small bump at her abdomen. "At least I still have you, huh?" She muttered to the baby, allowing herself to indulge in the fantasy of it hearing and understanding her. Then she closed her eyes and decided to allow herself one more fantasy for the night.


	9. Chapter 9

**Story: The Feel of A Heartbeat**

**Author: QueenyC**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bones or any of the charters or locations affiliated with it. If I did, I'd be doing more with them then posting stories in fan fiction.**

**A/N: You guys are just so wonderful! It makes my job suck a little less when I get to sneak a peek at my reviews! So, this might be one of my favorite chapters ever! I just adore Max Kennan and his naughty ways! Hope you like him too! :) And, hold onto your horses, we're into some serious pregnancy hormone territory now!**

**Chapter Nine: Father Knows Best**

Brennan frowned at the knock at her door. Booth had promised to be by tonight with supplies for her most recent craving, fruit pancakes, but he'd insisted he'd be late with paperwork. Peering through the peephole though, her curiosity was hardly satisfied with the face she saw instead of her partner's.

"Dad?"

"Hey Pumpkin," Her father grinned, holding up his now customary gift of snickerdoodles with a wiggling eyebrow. "Just wanted to check in on you."

"Okay," Brennan nodded, stepping aside to let her father in. He didn't hesitate to step into her apartment and drop the bag of cookies onto her kitchen counter while Brennan closed (and bolted—on Booth's orders) the front door.

"You look beautiful, honey," her father told her then, pulling her into a hug. "I'm so proud of you."

"Thank you," Brennan said uncertainly, "Though really I haven't done any of the work. Its the sperm Booth supplied that can really be congratulated on my pregnancy."

Her father chuckled, shaking his head at some joke that Brennan had clearly missed. "And where is that partner of yours, anyway? He left you without anyone to take care of you?"

Despite the teasing tone Brennan noted in her father's voice, she couldn't stop herself from jumping in quick defense of her partner. "Booth is working a late night, but he'll be by with food shortly. Also, I am more than capable of taking care of myself."

Her dad chuckled again. "I know you are. Of course you are. You my daughter, aren't you?"

Brennan smirked, "According to our DNA tests, yes," she quipped before turning to her couch and plopping down in what Booth would've said was an 'un-Bones-like' gesture. She didn't really care though. At five months pregnant she often felt more like a balloon than a person. A balloon with very swollen ankles.

Her father followed and it was only then that she realized he'd had two bags upon entering and was now tapping his finger nervously against the outside of the second.

"What's that?"

"Well," her father said, sounding uncharteristically nervous for a moment. "I'm sure you'll have a baby shower someday soon and maybe I should wait 'til then, but...I just wanted you to have this," he finished awkwardly, thrusting the package in her direction.

Full of an almost childlike curiosity, Brennan opened the bag quickly and peered in. She felt something like a weight drop into her throat as she pulled free a soft, yellow baby blanket.

"Where...where did you..." she found herself unusually speechless as images flooded her mind. Her mother, tucking the blanket tightly under her chin before a goodnight kiss. Her mother folding the impossibly soft fabric at the foot of Temperance's bed each morning. Her mother telling her the story of her birth.

She unconsciously pressed the material to her face, finding it wet with tears there. "How did you find my old baby blanket," she finally choked out, her voice sounding odd and raspy in her own ears.

Her father smiled softly, brushing the tears off her cheeks. "You know a con never reveals his tricks," he said softly. "I knew it would mean something to you one day."

To her own annoyance, Brennan gave a strangled sort of sob then and pressed the blanket to her face once more to hide her red cheeks of embarrassment.

It was unfortunate that Booth chose that moment to show up.

**~BB~**

"Bones, I got a couple of different—" Booth stopped suddenly as he took in the oddity of his best friend's living room, boxes of take out forgotten on the kitchen counter in an instant.

Bones was curled on the sofa over what appeared to be a faded yellow baby blanket, heaving sobs wracking her small body. Her father, beside her, was rubbing her back in gentle, soothing motions, not speaking. For a moment Booth considered leaving the family to it. It was so rare for his partner to be able to open up and be herself around her father. But Max looked up then, caught his eye and said without saying a word, 'Come comfort my daughter. You've always done it better than I could.' Then the old con rose to his feet and with a gentle kissed pressed to his daughter's head, he took his leave.

In an instant Booth was kneeling in front of his partner, prying her face up gently to meet his eyes so that he could take in her swollen, puffy face. "Bones, what's going on?"

Oddly, this seemed to send her into an even harder fit of tears as she pressed the yellow blanket in his arms as some sort of explanation that he just wasn't getting.

"The blanket?"

She nodded, and sniffled.

"Okay. Is there something wrong with it," He asked.

"No! No, it's perfect," Bones managed to whimper, rubbing the satined edges between the tips of her fingers and thumbs almost subconsciously in a familiar repetitive act which seemed to be calming her a little. And Booth suddenly understood.

"It was yours," he said softly. Not a question.

She nodded wildly, still sobbing little hiccuping sobs.

"Oh, Bones," he muttered, shifting onto the couch to gather her into his arms. He knew that her wounds, especially the ones from her family's abandonment, ran deep. He also knew that pregnant women were emotional roller coasters. Neither of those bits of knowledge made watching her cry any easier for him. Each sob felt like a weight against his soul, holding him down, stealing his breath away.

Eventually she cried herself out.

The food had grown cold by then and Bones was so stuffy from all the crying that he was surprised she hadn't thrown up yet. Still, she didn't speak or move from where he'd tucked her tightly into his lap, allowing him to stroke her hair soothingly.

Almost an hour after he'd arrived, she finally pulled a few inches away and muttered, "I'm sorry, Booth. You brought food and I just sat here and cried like a child."

"Food heats up," Booth said gently, noticing that she still hadn't climbed from his lap yet and wondering if she was even aware of their proximity or of what it was doing to him. "Are you okay?"

She nodded. "My hormones —"

"Are perfectly normal, Bones. Honest. At least you haven't thrown anything at me. Rebecca was a terror," he confided honestly.

He felt like the sun had started shining again when she cracked a little smile. "You're a great friend, Booth," she told him quietly, resting her head back against his chest. Neither of them moved for fear of shattering the moment.

**~BB~**

At the first bar he found, Max stepped into the familiar, friendly atmosphere and ordered a beer in congratulations to himself.

Seeing his baby girl cry was, of course, one of the most painful things he'd ever endured. It had been amplified by the fact that she'd done it so rarely as a child and because he knew that the wounds he'd opened had been his own doing to begin with.

But everything had turned out better than planned when Booth showed up to shower his little girl with the comfort she needed. Max sincerely hoped that this baby was going to pull their heads up out of the sand and hopefully send them crashing into one another heart first.

Quietly, Max sipped at his drink and wondered if there were any other ways he could force the two hopeless partners together.


	10. Chapter 10

**Story: The Feel of A Heartbeat**

**Author: QueenyC**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bones or any of the charters or locations affiliated with it. If I did, I'd be doing more with them then posting stories in fan fiction.**

**A/N: SouthunLady, this one is for you!**

**Chapter Ten: A Change in Arrangements**

"Booth!" Her voice was panicked over the phone.

"Bones? What is it? What's wrong," he was already swinging out of bed, throwing on clothes.

"I...I don't know. I feel odd and — _ow_ —I think something is wrong, Booth," She broke off into sobs.

Her words sent a terrible chill down his spine, his stomach clenched in fear. "I'll be right there, don't move," he promised, reaching for his keys and sliding on his shoes in a frenzy.

"Please hurry," the fear in her voice more than anything spurred him to action.

He reached her apartment in record time, bounding up the stairs like a man possessed. He didn't knock but let himself straight in, finding his partner on her couch, hands on her round belly and tears in her eyes.

"What is it, Baby?" He asked, the term of endearment slipping out unnoticed by either of them.

"I'm not sure," Brennan replied, her eyes were full of pain. "Booth," she whispered, "I'm scared."

"Okay, it's okay," he told her gently, as if speaking to a small child. "I'm gonna pick you up, okay? And we're going straight to the hospital."

She nodded but didn't speak. That alone made him cold with fear. Without another word he scooped her up into his arms and carried her gently but quickly down the stairs and out to his SUV. He flipped on his lights and siren and made hastily for the hospital, praying to every saint he could think of for Brennan and the baby's safety.

_Please God, let everything be okay._

**~BB~**

"Everything is fine, Dr. Brennan. It was just false contractions. You're a little early in the pregnancy for those and they generally don't cause as much pain as you experienced, but everything is just fine," her doctor said reassuringly, resting an gentle hand on her arm.

"I'm going to send in the antsy agent now," Dr. Womack continued. "Is that okay?"

Brennan nodded absently as her doctor left the small examining room and Booth came rushing in, in her place. She wrapped her arms tightly around her stomach as if in protection. The pain had been intense, but the fear had been paralyzing. Never had Brennan felt so invested in someone's life since Pam Nunan had nearly taken her best friend from her. But this had been beyond that in so many ways.

And it was nothing.

She suddenly felt like she couldn't catch her breath.

How could she feel so much for a life that hadn't even begun yet? How could she love someone so much that she hadn't even met? For five months a life had been growing inside of her, but at that moment it had all become real.

Booth had his arms wrapped around her before she realized she'd started crying. "I know," he muttered into her ear, always so in tune with what she was thinking and feeling. "I know. It's okay. I'm here. It's alright."

"But you weren't there," she whispered back desperately because there was no way she could ever describe what it felt like to have that initial pain lance through her abdomen, to worry for the precious life slipping through her and away from her, and to be alone.

"Bones," he sighed and she could already read the guilt in his eyes.

She shook her head. "No, Booth, I don't want you to feel guilty. It's just...I was so stupid to think I could do this alone."

"Hey, you're Temperance Brennan. You can do anything," he told her gently.

"No," She shook her head wildly so that he placed his warm hands against her cheeks to hold her steady. "I'm scared, Booth," she admitted for the second time that night. "I was _so_ scared."

He nodded. "Me too. But it's okay now."

"Come live with me." Brennan said breathlessly, looking up into her best friend's eyes to help convey her desperation. He was the only person who would ever see this side of her, the only person she'd ever let in that far.

"What?" Booth looked at her like he was trying to see through her.

"Come live with me. I have a spare room. You'll be there for everything that way. You'll be there if...if something—" She couldn't even finish the thought for the trembling of her hands.

"Hey, _nothing_ is going to go wrong, Bones."

"I'd feel better if you were there,"she admitted after a moment of hesitant silence. "You'd only be a room away instead of a phone call." She whispered, feeling weak but also uniquely needy.

Booth studied her carefully, his eyebrows raised in surprise, emotions crossing his face too quickly for her to analyze. "You really want this, Bones? It's not just fear or obligation talking?"

She shook her head wanting to make him understand. "Please, Booth," she begged, fighting back her tears once again. "I just, I can't..."

"Hey," Booth's voice whispered against her ear, something unreadable in his tone. "Anything, Bones, you know that," he sighed, hugging her tightly once more. "If you want me there, it's done."


	11. Chapter 11

**Story: The Feel of A Heartbeat**

**Author: QueenyC**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bones or any of the charters or locations affiliated with it. If I did, I'd be doing more with them then posting stories in fan fiction.**

**Chapter Eleven: Paying House**

"You ought to be careful, Seeley," Cam said to him as she lifted one of the boxes from the back of his SUV and followed him up the stairs to Bones' apartment.

"My back is just fine, _Camille_," he replied.

He could literally feel Cam rolling her eyes. "I'm talking more about a certain organ of yours than a potential muscle spasm."

"Squint-speak, Camille? Really? I thought you'd know better," he chided as he stepped into the elevator holding it open with his foot as she followed him in.

She waited until the doors closed before facing him. "Your heart, you idiot," she sighed. "Playing house with a pregnant Dr. Brennan. Surely you see the potential for this to all end very badly."

For anyone else he would've schooled his features unconcerned, but Cam had always been able to see right through him anyway. Instead he shrugged, "She needs me here, Cam," he told one of his closest friends, trying not to let slip how much he needed to be there with her.

Cam nodded thoughtfully. "I know she does, Booth. I get it. I couldn't do it alone, either," she admitted. " Sometimes I'm in over my head with _Michelle_. Still," and balancing her box along one knee she managed to free a hand to rest it on his forearm, "For all the respect I have for Dr. Brennan, I'm worried about you, Big Guy."

"I'm know what I'm doing, Cam, but thank you," Booth said honestly.

She smiled at him as the elevator dinged their arrival at Brennan's floor. "For what it's worth," Cam said, halting his retreat. "I think she's there too."

"Where?"

"Falling in love," Cam smirked. Then she stepped out of the close quarters without a backward glance, calling ahead, "Dr. Brennan, where would you like this last batch?"

~BB~

"Do you think Parker will be okay with all of this?" Brennan sighed, glancing around at the chaos that was her apartment. Diplomatically, she and Booth had agreed on the things that he would bring, the things she would keep and the things that could be packed up and relocated to a baby-free office.

"I'm sure it will be fine, Sweetie," Angela assured her as she helped her best friend wrap some of her precious artifacts in bubble paper and place them carefully into boxes. "Parker is a wonderful, understanding, giving child. And he loves you."

Brennan felt her eyes inexplicably fill with tears at those words. "He is great, isn't he?" She said in a whimpery, rather pathetic sort of voice. _Curse pregnancy hormones_, she thought in annoyance.

"Yes he is," Angela said cautiously, gazing over the box at her unexpectedly emotional friend. "You okay, Bren?"

Brennan nodded but was undermined by her tears and a pitiful sniffle which she couldn't contain. "I think I'm in trouble, Angela," she whispered to her friend.

Angela's face was immediately concerned. "Why? Honey, what's wrong?"

Brennan shook her head. "I thought I could do this without help, without caring, you know. But...it's Booth." She rested her hand on her tummy, trying to voice the turmoil she'd been feeling since last week and the event which she and Booth had both unconsciously been referring to as 'The Scare.'

Angela's face softened. "It's okay to feel things for him, especially given your circumstances," she said gently, rubbing her friend's arm in reassurance. "The two of you have always been content to do things your own way and at your own pace. I'm sure it'll work out."

"I have these feelings for him, they've always been there, but lately it's just...too much..."

Angela smiled. "Here in the world _not_ governed by science, we call that love."

"Love isn't real, Angela. And...even if it were, I was always led to believe it would be wonderful, not painful."

"Are you kidding," Angela scoffed. "When I was with Hodgins sometimes it hurt so much I couldn't breathe. There is danger in being that wrapped up inside of another person. There's fear and there's pain but, mostly, there's this intense euphoria and this incredible, overwhelming sense of belonging. And even if sometimes it hurts, I've still never felt anything as good as that high."

Brennan studied Angela's face carefully, committing to memory this moment when, for the first time, she thought she might actually be on the same page as her friend. "You still love him, don't you?" She asked after a minute.

Angela smiled. "Of course I do. That was never the problem."

Brennan nodded, accepting this as one of those things she might never comprehend about the world around her. "He still loves you too," she added.

Angela nodded now. "Just like Booth loves you."

Brennan didn't respond, but, oddly, felt the baby flip playfully within her.


	12. Chapter 12

**Story: The Feel of A Heartbeat**

**Author: QueenyC**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bones or any of the charters or locations affiliated with it. If I did, I'd be doing more with them then posting stories in fan fiction.**

**Chapter Twelve: Girl Time, Girl Talk**

"How about this?" Angela suggested, holding up a burnt orange knit top and modeling it for her friend. Being a maternity top, it looked like it was going to swallow her whole.

Brennan grimaced. "I'll look like a walking pumpkin," she groused dismally, flipping aimlessly through the rack of department store clothes with a face screwed in concentration.

"Sweetie," Angela sighed, "You've shot down about a million of the options I've suggested. Eventually you will run out of maternity clothes and we'll have to move on to a new store filled with outfits you hate."

Brennan turned to her friend with a frown. "You're being hyperbolic again, we've only looked at a dozen or so options."

"What I'm say is," Angela sighed, "Why did you ask me here if you don't want my opinion?"

"Angela," Brennan laughed, "_You_ brought _me_ here, under extreme duress, I might add."

"Well, you needed to breakdown and buy some pregnant lady clothes sooner rather than later. Otherwise you'll stretch out all your designerwear." She bit her lip and began flipping again through the rack. Brennan took her lead and did the same.

For a few minutes the two friends were silent and then, "Sweetie, I've got to tell you something," Angela admitted finally.

"Okay," Brennan nodded, turning to meet Angela's strained face. She'd suspected since early that morning when she'd been all but kidnapped from her own apartment that Angela wanted to talk about something important. It had taken her an alarming two hours to work up the nerve apparently.

"Okay, so...after what you and I talked about the other day—"

"About what?"

"About love and relationships."

"When did we discuss this?"

Angela rolled her eyes, "When we were moving Booth's stuff in, Bren."

"Oh..." Brennan nodded, recalling with some embarrassment the conversation they'd shared. "About our changing relationship," she felt heat rise to her cheeks.

"Well, yeah, and...and about me and Hodgins."

"Oh."

"Yeah, well, it got me thinking and...then it got me driving—"

"A conversation got you driving?"

Angela sighed, "Focus Bren. So, I was driving and trying to figure out what I wanted and...suddenly I look up and I'm at the gate to Hodgins' place." She stopped in her narrative and gave Brennan a 'say something' look.

"So the two of you had sexual intercourse," she deduced, feeling rather proud of herself since Angela rarely gave good clues when she was flustered like this.

"Made love, but sure," Angela agreed, ringing her fingers together. "And...well, we're sort of... back together. And...the wedding is back on," she finished finally.

"Angela, if you're asking if I'll still be your maid of honor, the answer is, of course, yes. Although, it might be pertinent to wait until after February when the baby is born. I understand that wedding photos often attempt to achieve an aesthetically—"

Angela squealed, cutting her friend off in her lecture and lunging at the pregnant woman to wrap her in a hug. "Thank you," she whispered into Brennan's ear. "You're sure you don't mind?"

"Why on Earth would I mind, Ange?"

"Well," Angela screwed her face up in a grimace, "It's just, some people would probably be annoyed with, you know, a wedding since the first one was a bust and then we were broken up and I don't want people thinking that this isn't a serious thing just because of our history."

"Nobody would ever accuse you of holding a wedding without being in love, Angela," Brennan assured her friend. She didn't know much about love or monogamy, but she knew her friend and that both of those things were important to her.

Apparently she said the right thing since Angela let a huge smile split her face. "You're a great friend, Bren. Really," she said sincerely.

"As are you," Brennan agreed. "Now, what do you think about this one," she asked, holding up a cobalt blue sweater for her friend to admire.

"Perfect," Angela agreed.


	13. Chapter 13

**Story: The Feel of a Heartbeat**

**Author: QueenyC**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bones or any of the charters or locations affiliated with it. If I did, I'd be doing more with them then posting stories in fan fiction.**

**A/N: This is easily my favorite chapter thus far! SO much fun to write!**

**Chapter Thirteen: A Little Irrational**

"You're sure that you're fine with this," Booth asked his partner, his best friend, one last time.

"Booth, it's fine," Brennan said grouchily from her spot on the couch. She was laid out with her laptop balanced (adorably) on her protruding belly and was typing away madly at her newest novel.

"Because I can still cancel, you know? Hang out here instead?" Booth hated himself a little bit for wishing for a bigger reaction.

Brennan glanced up grudgingly from her work, "Enjoy your date, Booth. Tell Melissa I said hello."

Frowning, Booth sighed, "Will do," He grabbed his coat and keys. "Give me a call if you need anything, right?"

"I think I can manage a few hours without you," she told him sardonically.

"I never doubted for an instant," he grumbled, pulling the door shut behind him.

**~BB~**

As soon as the door shut to her apartment, Brennan allowed herself to drop all pretenses. Groaning, she dropped her head back onto the arm of her sofa and kicked her feet like a child.

A quick glance at the horrible writing she'd been pretending to focus on for the past hour told her it was time to put the laptop away for awhile and focus on something new.

It suddenly occurred to Brennan that this was the first time in months that she'd been left to her own devices. How had she let Booth infiltrate her life to that level? How was she not even capable of filling a few Friday night hours without him?

She knew, or at least the rational non-pregnancy-hormone side of her did, that she should be happy for Booth. Their situation wasn't exactly normal, was it? And Melissa seemed like a nice enough girl, someone who understood her and Booth's admittedly complicated relationship and had resolved not to play the jealous girlfriend. Which was good, because it seemed Brennan herself was going to be filling that particular role this evening.

And here was the crux of the problem. Being pregnant made her undesirable and unbearably horny and Booth, the only man she ever seemed to be thinking about these days was out on some date with a 25 year-old 'sexy lawyer' (to quote Angela). It wasn't fair.

"He better bring me some leftovers," she grumbled to herself, climbing awkwardly to her feet and stalking into her kitchen.

**~BB~**

The date hadn't been awful, which was a nice surprise for Booth since he'd been out of the game so long (or, if he was being honest with himself, had just been in the Temperance Brennan game so long) that he worried he'd forgotten how to do it all.

But Melissa had been nice, and funny and was very, very pretty. She was a little young for him, but she had a sharp mind and a good heart. And if she noticed his slight distraction she'd taken it in stride, kissed his cheek at the end of the night and told him to give her a call sometime. Not a bad date at all.

But the night was far from over he realized when he stepped into his apartment (he'd finally been living there long enough now that it felt like _their_ place instead of _hers_) to find Bones balanced precariously on a chair in the kitchen cleaning the tops of the cupboards.

"Bones, what the hell are you doing?" He asked as he crossed to her in five quick strides and rested his hands on her waist to keep her steady.

"Cleaning, obviously," she replied curtly. "How was your date?"

"Fine," Booth said, distractedly trying to coerce her off of the chair. "Were the tops of your cabinets really that dirty?"

"I found I had reached a stopping point in my novel and was unable to go to sleep just yet," she replied. It was then that Booth noticed the sharpness of her tone and, after helping her off the chair took a wary step back. He'd only been attacked once so far in her rampage of pregnancy hormones (God help the little squinterns who'd taken most of the bashing) but he was in no quick hurry to be steam-rollered again.

"What's wrong, Bones?" He asked cautiously. "Really?"

"Nothing, Booth," she said with a roll of her eyes. "I told you, I wasn't tired and the cupboards needed to be cleaned."

"At midnight on a Friday, Bones?"

"It's just as good a time as any," she snapped. "It's not as if men are hitting down the door to ask me out."

"_Beating_ down, Bones, and what are you talking about?"

"What do you care," she sighed stepping back and wrapping her arms around her waist in her traditional 'building up the walls' pose. Booth was very familiar with it by now.

"Bones, I care, okay. You're my...best friend."

"Nevermind," she told him. Tossing the cleaning rag in her hands onto the counter she turned to leave the kitchen. "I was just about finished anyway. I'm going to bed."

"Bones, talk to me," he pleaded, gripping her forearm lightly to halt her retreat.

She shook her head. "Why are you home so early, anyway? Shouldn't you be having sex with Melissa right now?"

Booth recoiled like he'd been slapped. "Jesus Bones, it was a first date!"

"Well, did you have fun," she asked, her voice instantly softer, her head down, still not turning to face him. One of those miraculous 180-mood swings.

He shrugged, unsure of what answer she was looking for at this point. "It was a nice evening. Just dinner and a movie. Melissa seems nice and — Bones are you crying?"

"No," she sniffled, wiping her eyes.

Booth felt his heart sink in his chest. So, okay, she was being totally confusing and irrational, but seeing her cry still made him want to kill people. Sighing, he stepped towards her and wrapped her in his arms. "Please don't cry, Bones. Tell me what's wrong."

"I don't want you dating," she said suddenly into his chest.

His heart seized. "You don't?"

She shook her head. "It's selfish and completely unfair and I hate feeling so irrational, Booth, but if nobody wants me, well, I don't want you dating either."

Booth almost laughed. _How can she think that nobody wants her? _

Then the rest of her words caught up. She wasn't jealous of Melissa's date with him. She was jealous of _his_ date with Melissa. With his ability to still date freely at all. His heart sank a little further. So it wasn't him she was after. It never would be.

"Okay, Bones," he promised her, because at that moment he didn't care if he ever went on another date again anyway.

"Okay?"

"You don't want me dating, I don't date," he agreed.

"But..." she pulled back from his embrace with raised eyebrows. "It's so utterly unreasonable."

Booth laughed a little at her perplexed face. "That's okay. If it makes you unhappy, I don't want to do it."

"I don't know what to say," she sighed, allowing him to pull her back into another embrace.

"You don't have to say anything, Temperance. It's okay."


	14. Chapter 14

**Author: QueenyC**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bones or any of the charters or locations affiliated with it. If I did, I'd be doing more with them then posting stories in fan fiction.**

**A/N: So, I kind of fell of the grid last week. Sorry, I was on vacation. To clear up some apparent confusion with the last chapter, Melissa is not a cannon character. I made her up (she eyed Booth at an FBI event and had an agent slip him her number, or at least that's how I see it in my mind). Sorry if this threw you all off. I was going on the principles of The Butterfly Effect and assuming that there would be new people in B&B's lives considering the different path this AU takes.**

**Having said all that, these next two chapters ( because this first one is super short) are easily my favorite thus far!**

**Chapter Fourteen: Luck Has Nothing to Do With It**

"It's gonna be a girl, Bones, I'm certain of it," Booth insisted as he rested his hand at its usual spot on her lower back and ushered her into her obstetrician's office.

"There is no way for you to know that, Booth," she argued in annoyance as she settled onto the observation table with his assistance. If Booth was being honest with himself (which he tried not to do too often these days) he'd have said he just liked arguing with her to see that pretty flush in her cheeks.

"Trust me, Bones, it's a girl."

"You know I trust you implicity, Booth," she told him then. Booth couldn't quite contain the wide grin that split his face at those words. "But I still don't see how you can 'know' it's a girl."

"Because, Bones," He told her, like he was letting her in on a huge secret. "I already have a son."

She burst into giggles, something he rarely got the opportunity to see. "That is a ridiculous conclusion!" She told him.

Booth grinned wider. "If you say so, Bones, but I'm still right." Call it gut instinct, chalk it up to answered prayers, but he knew, somehow, that it would be a girl. For years he'd been dreaming of blue-eyed baby girls with their mother's brain and their father's instincts.

The two had argued amiably about it for the next five minutes while the doctor came in, followed by the ultrasound tech.

"We ready to meet your baby," Dr. Womack asked enthusiastically.

Booth spoke for both of them, afraid of what Brennan would say about the inaccuracies of the statement, "Definitely."

A glob of cold gel and an ultrasound later and Booth was leading Brennan out of the office with a self-satisfied smile on his face.

"You got lucky," Brennan told him in mock irritability. Her own grin was not easy to mask.

"Bones," Booth couldn't help but say, "I've been feeling pretty lucky for the past six months."


	15. Chapter 15

**Author: QueenyC**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bones or any of the charters or locations affiliated with it. If I did, I'd be doing more with them then posting stories in fan fiction.**

**Chapter Fifteen: What's In a Name**

She frowned down at the list on her desk, feeling slightly guilty for the neglected paperwork piling up in her inbox. But for some strange reason she could not put her mind into her work until she got this done. She was finding it harder and harder to compartmentalize these days. Especially since last week when they'd found the sex of the baby.

"_It's gonna be a girl, Bones, I'm certain of it."_

And he had been right.

A baby girl. Every time she thought about it a strange tingle shot through her body. She was going to have a daughter. It brought strange images to her mind: a dark-haired toddler with eyes like the ocean and an open, giving heart; or maybe a bookish five year-old with auburn hair and warm, chocolate-colored eyes.

She groaned in aggravation and glared down at the paper like it was causing the distraction instead of attempting to relieve it.

"Dr. Brennan," Cam's voice echoed from just outside of her office door, "everything okay," she continued as she peeked in.

Feeling guilty, Brennan sighed and passed her pitiful list to her 'boss' wordlessly as she entered.

Cam's eyes darted across the page quickly before looking up with a raised, curious eyebrow. "All but this last name are marked out. What is this, a hit list?"

"No," she felt decidedly embarrassed. "They're baby names."

Cam's mouth formed a perfect 'o' of surprise as she skimmed the list again. "I like 'Lily,'" she noted kindly of the only name which hadn't been struck through and returned the list to its owner.

Brennan smiled at the gesture and nodded. "It's Booth's mother's name," she confided. Then she frowned, "Would that be out of line?" She began to mark it out but found Cam's hand on her arm, staying her pen.

"I think he'd be touched, Dr. Brennan."

She nodded. "Booth and I found out it was a girl last week," she said.

Cam nodded and grinned. "I seem to remember him running around like a five-year old on a sugar rush last Friday."

Brennan laughed. "Booth says that you start working on names after you learn the baby's sex. And I've agreed to keep him involved in the baby's life, in the whole process. That was the stipulations of his donation," she added, trying to sound clinical. Trying not to remember that the only man she might every be inclined to love was now tied to her through a child. "So I told him to come up with a list of names he liked and we'd decide together."

Cam's smile was almost benevolent, "That was incredibly thoughtful of you, Dr. Brennan."

She couldn't help but smile at the compliment. "Thank you."

"So, what's the problem?"

"In most cultures, names are a form of identity. You are defined by your name. People will judge you on it. I want to make sure I pick a good one."

Cam grinned at her friend and co-worker, wondering when the woman had begun to let go, to feel and be open. She supposed it had a lot to do with her partner.

"Names are important," Cam agreed, "but it's the parenting that really counts and, Dr. Brennan," she assured, reaching once again to rest her hand atop the anthropologists, "You're going to make a wonderful mother."

**~BB~**

Booth ushered Bones into their now shared apartment with a flourish, holding the heavenly smelling Thai food out of her reach.

"I can carry that, you know," she sighed, feigning aggravation, though he saw the corners of her mouth turning up slightly.

"I know you _can_, Bones, you just shouldn't have to," He assured, turning to lock their door behind them and motioning for her to take her usual seat at her couch. He followed, laying out their usual spread in the comfortable silence they shared.

"So what did you do today?" He asked once they were both settled in. Since she'd reached six months, Cam, Booth and the upper echelons of the Jeffersonian had insisted she only enter the field when it was necessary to retrieve remains. Otherwise, she'd virtually been chained to her desk. It meant that Booth didn't spend as much time with her and that he didn't have her keen eyes and input in some of their cases, but it also meant that she was safe. Something he preferred much more.

"Worked in Bone Storage, mostly," she replied and then bit her lip. "And," she sighed and fished a piece of paper from her pocket, "this."

Unfolding the paper, Booth's eyes scanned over the six crossed through names. "What is this, Bones?"

"Baby names," she told him with a frown. "I can't think of any good ones." He started to smile but stopped when he saw her eyes grow watery, "How am I going to be a decent parent if I can't even decide on something as trivial as a name?"

"Hey," he said gently as her lip began to quiver. "You are going to be an amazing mother. I promise you that."

She sniffed adorably. "You can't promise something like that, Booth."

"Sure I can. I've known you for years and I've learned that there is nothing you can't do, Temperance. Nothing." She nodded, trying to accept his words. "Now, about these names," he continued, "I've only come up with one myself."

Blinking owlishly, Brennan faced him, waiting. "That's one more than I've managed," she joked.

Booth laughed and nodded. "I was thinking 'Joy,'" He told her sheepishly.

"Joy?" She scrunched her face like she always did when she was thinking hard about something. "My birth name? Why?"

"Because the baby is a part of you, your past and your present. And because," he shrugged, feeling foolish, "Because she'll bring you joy and she'll be the happiest baby in the world."

Silence stretched between them until Booth couldn't stand it and looked up to see her reaction. He was astonished and dismayed to find tears streaking down Brennan's cheeks like sad, tiny rivers.

"Hey," he whispered, absently brushing the tears away with his thumb. "Don't cry, Bones. It was only a suggestion."

She shook her head adamantly. "No," she gasped. "It was a wonderful suggestion. I love it, Booth," she grabbed his hand desperately, giving it a squeeze. "And I'd...I'd like her middle name to be Christine."

"Joy Christine Brennan," he muttered, his heart fluttering. "It's a beautiful name."

"Joy Christine Brennan-Booth," she corrected. He thought at that moment he might die of happiness.


	16. Chapter 16

**Author: QueenyC**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bones or any of the charters or locations affiliated with it. If I did, I'd be doing more with them then posting stories in fan fiction.**

**A/N: So it's a girl! Hooray! I always knew that if I wrote a B&B baby fic it would have to be a little girl named Joy. Call me old-fashioned, but I love a name that has familial ties. : ) Glad so many of you approved of my choice there. This next chapter is a little angsty after all that sugary goodness and we're nearing the end of our journey. I'm thinking maybe six more chapters. Enjoy!**

**Chapter Sixteen: Fears**

For years afterwards, he would curse himself for not knowing sooner that she was still afraid of the dark. How had he not known that about the woman he loved? The woman who was carrying his child? The woman he'd been living with for months.

It had started with a late-night Friends marathon, a TV show that Booth found mildly amusing but, for whatever reason, seemed to keep his partner in constant gales of laughter. And it was so good to see her laughing.

She'd been staying up late a lot recently. Joy apparently gave her terrible heartburn and made it difficult for her to fall asleep. Since she'd reached the third trimester and was officially on half-days at the Jeffersonian (the closest she would conceded to her ordered bed rest) she had been staying up past two in the morning most nights and going into the lab after a late lunch with Booth each day. It was oddly domestic, the whole situation. A glimpse for Booth of the life they could have together if he wasn't chicken-shit and she wasn't stubborn.

Some nights, like that one, he stayed up with her. Dozing quietly beside her on the couch but reluctant to leave her side if he could help it.

When she'd excused herself to the bathroom for the third time in as many hours he'd considered slipping off to bed. And then, the power had given a warning flicker and disappeared altogether.

"Damn," he swore to himself, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the overwhelming gloom of the apartment. He stumbled quickly over to the kitchen and, knocking his head on the underside of the sink, retrieved the emergency flashlight.

"Booth," she called plaintively from the bathroom.

"I'm coming Bones," he promised, his path eased with the aide of the flashlight he made quick time to her.

He was shocked when he swung the door open and found Brennan on the floor, her knees pulled as tightly to her chin as her baby belly would allow, a desperate fear in her eyes.

"Hey," he muttered, "It's okay. Just a power outage."

Brennan nodded frantically but didn't get up from her place on the ground.

"They'll probably have it up and running again in seconds," he continued as he joined her on the cool tile floor.

Another nod.

Booth sighed. "Talk to me, Bones. What's going on?"

"I find myself irrationally afraid of the dark sometimes," she confided, "since the Gravedigger," she added after a moment.

He could've kicked himself for not noticing, but then, this was Temperance Brennan. If she didn't want you to know things, you just didn't. "God, Bones," he sighed, draping an arm over her shoulder and pulling her tightly to him.

She silently rested her head in the crook of his neck and nuzzled something like a puppy into his warmth. "I keep a night-light in my room, though I hate to do it," she whispered after a moment, her breath tickling the skin at his collarbone. "It is utterly irrational but...sometimes, when I wake up I forget where I am. That I'm not...there. Will it ever go away?"

"I don't know, Bones," he whispered, because while reassurance worked best with most women, in the case of Dr. Temperance Brennan honesty was always the best policy. "I still get nightmares sometimes. Of being in that damn submarine, in that ship rigged with explosives."

She nodded against him, her own sort of haunted by the events they'd both suffered.

"I still don't know how you did it," she told him a while later. "I think I would've gone insane if Hodgins hadn't been there. That's what I hate most...waking up alone and in the dark."

"I'm just down the hall now, Bones," he told her gently, rubbing soothing, unconscious circles on her goose-bumped arms.

"Sometimes even that seems far away."

He didn't respond but sat quietly with her as her breathing grew slower and deeper and eventually he became certain she'd fallen asleep.

He scooped her up and carried her into her neat bedroom, the one place in the apartment that he tried to avoid because it was so very _her_ that he always felt like an intruder, like being in the room was akin to reading the woman's diary. He arranged her in the bed quickly, pulled the covers up over her, surreptitiously brushed a hand across her bulging abdomen and settled a lock of her hair behind her ear. When he turned to leave her voice beckoned from beneath the covers.

"Don't go, Booth, please?"

"Bones, I—"

"I don't want to wake up alone."

He wondered sometimes if she knew she was killing him, little by little, breaking down all the parts of him that cautioned his foolish heart into believing they had a future. But Bones was not a cruel woman and, for any faults that she might have had, coniving was not one of them.

Shutting away the voice in his head that sounded suspiciously like Cam saying, _be careful, Seeley, you're in this too deep_, he nodded in the darkness and climbed into the bed behind Bones, carefully remaining on his side of the bed.

Instantly she rolled over and fit herself against his side so that he could feel the baby pressing into him, warm and alive and miraculous. He couldn't stop himself from wrapping his arm around her for fear that in the morning, this would all be a dream.


	17. Chapter 17

**Author: QueenyC**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bones or any of the charters or locations affiliated with it. If I did, I'd be doing more with them then posting stories in fan fiction.**

**A/N: A short one today! :)**

**Chapter Seventeen: Showered with Affection**

"I'm still not sure I understand the purpose of this," Brennan sighed as she watched Angela and Booth carefully fill a tray with cucumber sandwiches and assorted fruits and vegetables. "I have sufficient income to purchase whatever is necessary for a new baby."

Angela rolled her eyes but smiled indulgently. "_Anthropologically_ speaking, baby showers are an opportunity for a pregnant woman's friends to gush over the soon-to-be mommy and share their excitement with gifts," she replied.

Brennan couldn't help but chuckle appreciatively at her friend's attempt to speak her 'language' as Booth would say. This effort alone kept her from protesting further. Besides, the guests would be arriving shortly. It didn't really matter now.

Angela had gone through a lot of trouble to hang up hand-painted signs of Joy's latest sonogram with her name stenciled neatly beside it, 'Joy Christine Brennan-Booth.' Brennan had been insistent upon the hyphenated last name despite the artist's protests that it was too long for such a little baby.

Booth had been glowing since he'd helped Angela hang it and been regaled with tales of the argument.

There was a knock at the door and Brennan leapt (so much as a seven-months pregnant woman can leap, anyway) to her feet and waddled over to the door.

"Hello, Dr. B," Hodgins said at the doorway. He had a small yellow package tucked beneath his arm and a goofy smile on his face as he pulled her into a hug. Brennan hugged him back affectionately and stepped aside to let him in. Hodgins arrival was followed closely by Cam and her daughter, Michelle; Dr. Sweets and his girlfriend, Daisy; Wendell Bray; Rebecca (who'd recently become closer with Temperance now that they saw each other every time it was Booth's weekend with her son); Parker; and her brother, Russ, and his wife, Amy. Her dad had promised to show up later that afternoon.

"I'm not certain that my apartment is conducive to parties," Brennan remarked with a smile as her friends filled every space of her living room, chattering, hugging, auspiciously trading out some of the healthier food items for hidden sweets in their pockets. There was suddenly an odd tightness in her chest.

Years ago, Booth had assured her there were different types of families. And this, this odd make-up of men and women from all different walks, different paths, different professions, was hers. She'd never felt so surrounded by love, more convinced of its existence.

"You alright, there, Bones," Booth said, suddenly somehow beside her.

"I'm fine," she nodded, brushing at her eyes and once again cursing her recent tendency to burst into tears. "I'm...I'm better than fine, actually," she grinned.


	18. Chapter 18

**Author: QueenyC**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bones or any of the charters or locations affiliated with it. If I did, I'd be doing more with them then posting stories in fan fiction.**

**Eighteen: That Funny Feeling**

"Bones, did you see? Did you _see_?"

"I did," Brennan laughed at the bouncing Parker Booth as he managed to get a goal past his father while they played two-man soccer. "Very impressive."

Parker beamed like a lightbulb.

"Bones thinks I'm impressive," He told his father smugly, earning Brennan a wide grin from the older Booth as well.

"She does, huh?"

"It's a family characteristic, I think," she replied with a smirk. As he grinned at her she got it again, that odd tightening in her chest, the sudden difficulty of breathing. It was gone rather quickly, nothing for alarm, but new to her all the same.

As if in response to this, the baby kicked in her womb, calling for attention and pressing persistently against her bladder. Ignoring the more basic instinct to seek out a restroom immediately, she called to the Booth boys instead. "Joy is kicking again."

Parker grinned and, abandoning his game instantly, raced to her side. "She's gonna play soccer too," he announced decisively.

"If she wants to," Brennan agreed, helping Parker to place his hand where Joy had concentrated most of her movement.

"Wow," Parker beamed, "Dad, you gotta feel this."

Booth looked at his son with a soft smile and then, with his eyes, asked Brennan's permission. In response she took his hand, ignoring the sparks that lit along her fingertips where their skin met, and pressed it just below Parker's.

The look of unadulterated happiness that crossed his rugged, handsome features made something stir inside of her and she couldn't stop her responding smile if she had wanted to.

"She's really going to it, huh," He chuckled.

"She's as active as her father," Brennan replied with a roll of her eyes which she didn't really mean.

"Says the woman who I have to kidnap from the Jeffersonian for meals and sleeping breaks."

"I have a very important job," Brennan teased.

"Trust me," he laughed, "I'm aware."

"When I grow up, I want to do it too," Parker injected, stopping both adults in their bantering.

"Do what, Bub?"

"What Bones does," Parker said as if it was the most obvious thing. "Be a fren-sick anthropologist."

"You do," Booth asked in surprise. Last he'd heard, his kid was gonna be an astronaut.

"Duh, Dad," Parker scoffed. "It's only the coolest job ever. Bones'll help me with the studying so I'll be _way_ ahead of everyone else. _And_, I'll get to work with the FBI."

Booth was literally floored. Parker was only eight and would have years to change his mind but, somehow, Booth truly believed his words.

Brennan found herself struggling to breath. She smiled softly and felt a sort of swelling in her chest like her heart might burst for the amount of blood pumping through it. She thought maybe this was what it felt like to be proud of one's child, a heady, swooping sensation of euphoria that was almost painful it was so overwhelming. She knew then that the affection, the _love_ she had for Parker could be no deeper than if she'd been his own mother. "I think you will be better than even me," she told him honestly, the only thing she could offer to such a bright, beautiful child.

Parker beamed bashfully and wordlessly wrapped his arms around her neck in a hug. "Hey Dad," he said then, breaking the tension. "I'm getting hungry."

Booth leapt to his feet at the words, pulling first Parker and then Brennan up to their feet. "Let's hunt up some food then, shall we?" He asked, unconciously slinging one arm around Brennan's waist and the other across Parker's shoulders.

Brennan felt like she was soaring.


	19. Chapter 19

**Author: QueenyC**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bones or any of the charters or locations affiliated with it. If I did, I'd be doing more with them then posting stories in fan fiction.**

**Nineteen: Radiantly in Love**

"So remind me again why we're doing this," Brennan whined in a testy tone. Her feet were feeling puffy and swollen with retained water and the stress of an eight month pregnancy walking around on them all afternoon.

Angela, standing in a sleek, white satin gown before a three-sided full-length mirror, cut her friend a look. "Well, I guess I _could_ attend my own wedding in the nude, it wouldn't be that out of character, but I don't think my dad would approve."

Brennan rolled her eyes, "I'm certain you know that isn't what I meant. Don't you have the dress still from your last attempt at nuptials?"

Angela turned to give her best friend, her dear, clueless best friend, a scandalized look. "I can't wear that dress!"

"Why not?"

"Because," Angela scoffed, as if the reason should be perfectly obvious, "It's tainted with a failed ceremony and my previous marriage and our break-up. It would be bad luck!"

"Angela, I don't believe in luck, good or bad."

Angela rolled her eyes. "I know you don't, Sweetie, but I do and," she paused, biting her lip, "It's important to me that I get it right this time. So...no bad omens."

Brennan still wasn't sure she understood. To be honest, despite the time they'd known each other, she felt like she almost never understood her best friend. Still, this was obviously, however irrationally, important to the artist. And _that_, Brennan had learned, made it important to her regardless of it's reasoning. Digesting all this, she nodded finally. "I accept your need to make this ceremony what Booth would call a 'fresh start.'"

Angela laughed and turned back to her striking silhouette in the mirror. "Thank you, Sweetie. Now, what do you think of this one?"

"I think it is very flattering, though, technically speaking the tradition of wearing white comes from historical necessity of proclaiming a bride's virginity and—"

"I'm gonna just stop you there, Sweetie," Angela said, holding up her hand. "I want a white dress, regardless of the inherent meaning behind the color choice."

Brennan nodded and watched silently for a moment as her friend struck dramatic, silly poses in front of the mirror.

"So," Angela said after a moment, "How're things going with you and Agent Studly?"

"Going?"

"You know, with him living with you and all. I know you were nervous about it a few months ago."

"Living with Booth is oddly unaffecting. I thought it would be awkward, but it isn't at all. Everything feels surprisingly...comfortable and...easy," her face screwed up in thought. "What does that mean," she asked her friend finally.

Angela grinned wide, "It means that I was right, which, of course I knew, but confirmation is always nice."

"I don't know what that means."

"It means you are totally in love with Booth and he is totally in love with you and now that you live together you're playing happy families. I couldn't have arranged this better if I had tried."

"Angela, I don't think that—"

"Nope," Angela said, holding up her hand once again to stop Brennan from speaking, "No arguments. Accept inevitable truths. Facts, right? That's what you prefer. This is an undeniable fact. You're in love. Embrace it, Bren." She turned away from the mirror then, grinning widely. It set off the white dress so beautifully Brennan suddenly understood the concept of bridal beauty.

"I think this is the one," Angela said, changing the subject before Brennan could protest.

"I tend to agree," Brennan nodded, trying to determine if she also agreed with Angela's assessment of her love life.


	20. Chapter 20

**Author: QueenyC**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bones or any of the charters or locations affiliated with it. If I did, I'd be doing more with them then posting stories in fan fiction.**

**A/N: Two chapters today since I've been posting such short ones lately. Hope you like this! We are seriously nearing the moment you've all been waiting for!**

**Twenty: Irreplaceable**

Brennan lay awake in her bed, staring hopelessly up at the expanse of dark ceiling, studying uselessly the small crescent of light that glowed from her begrudged nightlight.

Unfortunately, at eight months pregnant, she couldn't maintain the position long and found herself forced to roll awkwardly to her side to catch her breath.

Her pregnancy had been an incredible experience so far and relatively event-free, _thank goodness_, but she'd be lying if she said she wasn't eager for the end drawing ever nearer. Some days she was certain she was ready now for all that motherhood would throw at her. Other days she was terrified of crossing those proverbial bridges. But either way, she was certain Booth would be standing beside her, whispering helpfully in her ear, beaming proudly at her when she did well.

Her heart clenched at the thought and Brennan rolled quickly onto her back to try to catch her breath. It didn't help.

_You're in love. Embrace it, Bren_, Angela's voice echoed in her mind.

Brennan had never really believed in romantic notions of love. Sure, you loved family and, maybe you even loved friends, but (despite everyone's views of her as a cold fish) she had suffered her own share of romantic disappointments before she'd come to the conclusion that love, however affecting in the beginning, was a fleeting, passing emotion. She'd always known this to be true.

Until she'd met Booth.

It was becoming obvious to her now that Booth, as he always had been, was the exception to her every rule. And maybe Angela was right. Maybe, against her best efforts and wishes, she had fallen in love with Booth. If that was the case, there was nothing fleeting about the way she'd felt for him for the past five years. And what did that mean in her scheme of rules and laws of nature? Was she, herself, becoming an exception?

Her confusing thoughts came to a sudden (welcomed) halt as she absently became aware of a voice carrying from the kitchen. An angry voice.

"Booth," she muttered curiously rolling clumsily out of her bed and padding down the hall towards his voice.

"No, absolutely not," he was hissing at someone, his cell phone up to his ear and his stance a study of rigid frustration.

"I'm telling you, the answer is no! She is not in any state to look at a damn dead body. Find somebody else! Surely there is one _other_ forensic anthropologist in America!"

Brennan felt like she probably should've been more annoyed by Booth's alpha male posturing on her behalf, but, at two in the morning couldn't muster up the energy to care.

As if sensing her presence, Booth turned to face her and grimaced. "Sorry I woke you up," he sighed, then glared into his phone. "Not you."

Brennan couldn't help but grin at that.

"Yes, she is right here and _no_, you cannot! The answer is no, dammit."

"Booth," Brennan sighed, crossing the kitchen and easing the phone gently from his death-grip. "It's fine."

She sat down and rested an unconscious hand on her swollen belly. "This is Dr. Brennan."

"Temperance," Andrew Hacker, Booth's boss, said gently, "I hate to do this, really, I do. But it appears you are a hard woman to replace."

"Of course I am," Brennan agreed readily. "What is it that you need me to do?" Hacker seemed like a descent enough guy to Brennan. He was handsome and much younger than his predecessor, and he let Booth have a lot of free reign when it came to working with the squints (always a quick way to get on her good side). Still, she was not really in the mood for his smooth talking speeches.

"There's a case in Minnesota, a body found in the snow. Supposedly it's all sorts of mummified."

Brennan frowned. "There is only one sort of 'mummified,' Andrew."

He chuckled, leading her to believe she'd missed a joke. "Right. Well, we can't find anyone else to run the investigation and I could have the body sent to the Jeffersonian, but I know how you like your people to go over the scene so..."

"So I'm going to Minnesota," Brennan sighed her understanding.

"Bones," Booth growled, stoping his antsy pacing of the kitchen. "Don't let him tell you _have_ to do this! You don't! You're on maternity leave!"

"He's right, Temperance," Hacker agreed in her ear, unable to see the scowl of the man he was agreeing with, Brennan noted. "You _don't_ have to. I just wanted to see if you'd be willing. I could always just send our techs out to—"

"Destroy every last trace of evidence," Brennan finished caustically. "Fine, I'll do it. But Booth is coming with me."

"Of course."

"And I want an extravagant hotel room."

"Actually, we've arranged for a cabin."

"For both of us?"

"Yes."

"You knew I'd agree," Brennan frowned.

"I had a hunch," Hacker chuckled. "Anything else I can arrange for you?"

"No, just...don't sound so triumphant."

"Thank you, Temperance. Really."

"Mmhmm," she sighed, watching Booth's annoyed face as he reached for his phone. She held it out of his reach. "You also owe me for saving you from the rant you were about to get from my partner," she added before hanging up.

***~BB~***

Hacker glanced up at the old man in his sitting room with raised eyebrows. "Are you sure all of that was necessary? It seems like offering them a cabin in the woods for a few weeks would've sufficed, Mr. Keenan."

The old con across from him scoffed and waved his hand as if to brush off the suggestion. "Call me Max, please. 'Mr. Keenan' makes me feel old. And trust me, my Tempe doesn't take vacations, she takes assignments."

Hacker chuckled and shook his head in wonder. If anyone had told him a few weeks ago that he'd be in his living room at 3 a.m. with the con-artist father of one his homicide consultants...well, there just weren't words for this sort of situation. But, given that Temperance Brennan was a very beautiful, very talented woman (one that, in an alternate universe, he wouldn't mind spending hours trying to keep up with) and that Booth was his friend and best agent, well, he was willing to go out on a limb and play late-night matchmaker at least once. Especially since Max had come bearing the gift of a well-aged scotch and a scheming smile that was hard to refuse.

"So this time tomorrow the love birds will be in Minnesota in a cabin falling in love," Hacker asked his strange companion with a smirk.

"Son," Max chuckled, "Those two have been in love so long they've forgotten what it feels like."

"I'll drink to that," Hacker laughed, sloping a healthy shot of scotch into two of his snifters and passing one to Max.

"Cheers," Max agreed with a wicked grin.

***~BB~***

_Tempe,_

_Enjoy the cabin! A family inheritance on your mother's side. Sorry about the lack of dead bodies. Guess you and Booth will have to find other ways to keep yourselves busy! Happy vacation!_

_Dad_


	21. Chapter 21

**Author: QueenyC**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bones or any of the charters or locations affiliated with it. If I did, I'd be doing more with them then posting stories in fan fiction.**

**A/N: To Chicklit, thanks for the reality check :) If it helps, I did take these things into consideration. Let me attempt to explain my logic. I, of course, knew that there was no way that Brennan could fly at 8 months and that a drive would be necessary. As to the length of the journey, yes, it is quite the treck and yes, I do imagine that she was told (by her doctors, her partner and her friends) that it was an unnecessary risk. But this is Temperance Brennan we're talking about and when she wants to do something, very few things have been known to stand in her way. I figure Booth put up a good fight with her for several heated hours but that, in the end, Brennan threatened to drive herself there if he wouldn't. End of discussion (as it usually is with those two.)**

**Also, the decision to make it Michigan was strategic as I had incorrectly recalled the last Christmas episode (with Zooey Deschanel) revealed Brennan to have distant family on her mother's side located there (it was in fact in Minnesota, my bad, I have since made this correction). I hope that this helps to bring you back into the characters a bit and thank you for taking the time to call me out on my mistakes. Without further ado, I give you the next installment!**

**Twenty-One: If You Just Realize**

_Tempe,_

_Enjoy the cabin! A family inheritance on your mother's side. Sorry about the lack of dead bodies. Guess you and Booth will have to find other ways to keep yourselves busy! Happy vacation!_

_Dad_

***~BB~***

"Dad, what were you _thinking_?"

"That it's about time to two of you pulled your heads out of the sand."

"I don't know what that means," Brennan scowled, pacing the cabin's living room on her cell phone. "You faked a case and sent me and Booth to Minnesota because you mistook us for ostrich?"

"Baby," Her father's patient voice said over the line, "I know that what your mother and I and even Russ did to you all those years ago has never allowed you to love someone, but I'm telling you, if you wait around much longer, if you don't act now, you're going to lose him. Not today maybe, or tomorrow, but somewhere down the road, he's going to move on."

"Everyone moves on," Brennan sighed, feeling a stab of pain in her gut despite the bravado of her words. "Love is ephemeral. It doesn't last. People leave."

"Sometimes, Tempe, it lasts. I've never stopped loving your mother."

"Mom isn't here to test that theory," Brennan said coldly, anger coloring her words.

"No, she isn't. I'm sorry that my decisions have always managed to cause you such pain, but I refuse to see you spend your life alone when there is a good man who wants to spend it with you."

"Booth doesn't—"

"He _does_, Tempe. Surely even you can see that. Now, you can do one of two things with the gift I've given you."

"Gift? This is practically false imprisonment."

Her dad continued like she hadn't spoke. "You can either continue to bury your head in the sand, pretend you don't love him and live a half-life. Or, you can open yourself up to the possibility of being with him, tell him how you feel, Temperance. I promise you he will feel the same way."

_You're in love. Embrace it, Bren._

Brennan sighed and shook her head both at the voice of her best friend in her head and at her father's words, "It's not that easy," she said finally.

"Just _talk_ to him, Tempe."

***~BB~***

Booth woke up from another bad dream, one he seemed to be having a lot lately which involved Brennan trapped somewhere where he couldn't save her and going into labor. Just the thought made him feel nauseous as hell. It didn't help that, due to her shifting hormones, Brennan had lit several fires and was keeping the cabin unbearably hot.

Booth wasn't really sure what had happened on the phone between Brennan and her dad last night. Something about a false call from Hacker (there would be words) and a family-owned cabin in the woods of Minnesota. Brennan was being unusually quiet about the whole thing which led Booth to believe that there was much more to the story than she was willing to admit.

This was what he did know: For whatever reason, they were here. It was snowing outside. This place was beautiful. And Brennan had insisted that they leave first thing in the morning before retreating to her room hours ago. Booth was not looking forward to the 1,000 mile drive back in the morning. His back was already aching at the thought.

Booth groaned in the heat and the darkness and gave up, sitting up in bed and determining to get the full story out of Brennan now, even if it meant waking her up.

These thoughts on his mind, he rose from his bed and made his way over to her room. He pressed his ear against it curiously, listening for signs of life.

"Bones?" He whispered softly against her door. There was no response. Booth mustered his wits and called again, louder. "Bones, you awake?"

Even through the sturdy oak door he heard her defeated sigh, the one that meant he'd broken through another barrier. "I'm awake, Booth," she muttered resignedly. "Come in."

Booth did, entering her bedroom, dark but for the nightlight ritually plugged into the far wall. She was sitting up in bed, hand resting on her rounded belly and a contemplative look on her face. He could tell she hadn't been sleeping well either. He perched at the edge of her bed but before he could ask she was already giving it up.

"My dad planned for us to become romantically involved."

Booth thought he'd swallowed his tongue. "I'm sorry, _what_?"

She nodded, bowing her head sheepishly. "I know that's what you were going to ask. Why are we here? Because Dad put Hacker out to fake a case for us."

"Put Hacker _up_, Bones," Booth corrected automatically. "And why would he do that?"

"Because he thinks that you and I are in love and apparently the way to make us realize this is to send us away for a long weekend," Brennan shrugged. "I'm not very good with understanding motives. That's your job, Booth."

Booth chuckled. "The old man has chutzpah, I'll give him that."

Brennan smiled in the darkness, her eyes glowing prettily in the late night gloom. "I'm sorry about all of this. I know you didn't want to come."

"Bones," Booth sighed, instinctively grasping her hands through the covers she had tucked up to her chin, "I want to be wherever you are. I just didn't want you working in your condition."

"You say that like I'm dying. Pregnancy isn't a disease, Booth. It's very natural."

Booth smirked. "It's also very natural for alpha males to worry for their offspring and the women carrying them."

Brennan laughed. "That's fair, I suppose." For several minutes they sat in silence.

"Booth," she asked suddenly, breaking into his thoughts, "What does it feel like? Being in love?"

Booth felt the world shift slightly beneath his feet at her words. How to explain love to Bones? Were there even the words? "It...it feels like there's a string tied from your heart to another person's, and every breath, every action, every moment with them draws the string tighter so that, eventually, all that's left is the one."

Brennan watched him speaking with her usual wide eyed curiosity, nodding her understanding. "And...are you in love with me?"

The words shocked him. Was he in love with her? Was there ever a question? He couldn't remember the last time he'd looked at the woman and only seen his partner staring back at him. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt so deeply tied to another human being in his life. She was incredible. Smart and yet naive, beautiful and yet strong. She was great with Parker, who adored her sometimes more than either of his biological parents, and she was so full of love for the world that he was amazed when someone could call her cold.

"Yes," he replied simply, because above all Temperance valued truth. "For as long as I can remember."

For a moment after his admission Booth felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room. Then, "That's good," Brennan nodded, her eyes glistening prettily in the moonlight spilling in from the window. "Because I think love you too."

Booth felt his heart swelling in his chest, his breath coming in shorter, desperate gasps. The moonlight and the strange surroundings made this all feel like a vivid dream, but she was real beneath his hands, her skin warm and her eyes bright. She was more beautiful than his mind could've ever created for him in musings.

After a moment of hesitation, he pressed his lips against hers, the kiss full of passion and promises.


	22. Chapter 22

**Author: QueenyC**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bones or any of the charters or locations affiliated with it. If I did, I'd be doing more with them then posting stories in fan fiction.**

**Chapter Twenty-Two: Winning**

Brennan woke to the sensations of someone's arm draped across her side, a warm body pressed against her back, his breath moistening her neck. It took several minutes for it all to become real, to feel less like a dream and more like a future. Her heart clenched painfully in fear, but Brennan pushed down the anxiety with all the stamina which she normally devoted to running away.

There was only a small part of her that seemed to seek freedom from the confusingly simultaneous relief and panic that spread through her at promises of forever. For any other man, she would've thought the vow both ridiculous and false. But Booth had always been able to follow through with his promises. He'd always been able and (more amazing still) willing to give her what she needed: space, time, assurance, insight. It was time, she thought, that she started returning the favor. It was time he got what he needed from her as well.

Trying to move as little as possible, she reached for the cell phone resting on her bedside table and typed two words, sending them to two different phone numbers.

Then, rolling awkwardly in the circle of his arms, Brennan pressed her lips against Booth's and grinned as his arm flexed instinctively and possessively around her. An alpha male even in his sleep.

"Booth," she whispered against his skin. "Wakey, wakey," she teased, coining his own favorite phrase.

Unsurprisingly, his eyes began fluttering open and moments later he was smiling sleepily at her. "G'morning," he mumbled.

Brennan laughed, "Good morning. I'm hungry."

Booth laughed too. "Isn't that my line?"

"Pregnant," Brennan reminded him unnecessarily, considering the bulge of her tummy pressing into his own.

"Yes, you are," he chuckled, his hand running along the bare expanse of her stomach tenderly before seeking lower climates.

"Booth," Brennan admonished only half-heartedly. "Breakfast. I'm currently in need of nutrition for myself and for Joy and require sustenance."

"I'll give you sustenance," Booth growled playfully, cutting her a roguish grin that shot tingling sensations between her legs. He began pressing kisses along her jaw line.

"Mmmm, that feels nice," Brennan yielded, arching into him as his kisses began trailing down the line of throat and into the valley of her breasts.

"God," Booth murmured against her skin, "you are the most beautiful woman in the world."

Brennan smiled, "I'll concede that I'm attractive, Booth, but your statement is based on preference not fact."

"Trust me, Bones," Booth sighed happily, "You're stunning."

"Thank you," she smiled, giving in. Then she frowned. "I'm still hungry though."

Booth chuckled at that, finally rising from the bed and hunting for his boxers among the clothes scattered across the floor. "So, pancakes?"

"Mmhmm," Brennan nodded excitedly as she slid out of bed much more clumsily given her awkward shape. "With blueberries."

"Always turning things into health food," Booth teased but pressed a kiss to her cheek and made his way downstairs towards the kitchen. Brennan thought that, in spite of herself, she could definitely get used to this.

***~BB~***

Angela's phone bleeped an incoming text message at 10 a.m. Tuesday morning and, fishing the device from her pocket, she grinned as her best friend's number popped up.

Twenty seconds later every person in the lab was rushing into her office with worried looks as she let out a high-pitched scream of shock and happiness and began dancing around the room.

***~BB~***

In the same town, Max Keenan picked up his own buzzing cell phone and quietly congratulated himself, chuckling at the words on the screen.

_Received from Tempe:_

_You win._


	23. Chapter 23

**Author: QueenyC**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bones or any of the charters or locations affiliated with it. If I did, I'd be doing more with them then posting stories in fan fiction.**

**A/N: I'm so glad that everyone enjoyed my last two chapters! I had a ton of fun writing them! We are very close to the end here, readers, just three chapters to go! Let me know what you think!**

**Chapter Twenty-Three: Unexpected**

"Do we have to go back," Booth whined childishly, sticking out his bottom lip for effect.

Brennan gave him a one-sided smirk, "Did you really think that would work on me," she laughed finally, bending awkwardly to pick up her suitcase, which Booth, of course, beat her to.

"You've definitely got the whole mommy act down, Bones," he frowned, half annoyed and half pleased by her no-nonsense attitude. They'd had a beautiful week together in the mountains. Their days had been filled with cocoa on the snow-covered balcony, dinners baked in a wood stove and making love in front of the fire.

But reality was knocking.

Brennan had really been too far along in her pregnancy to make the journey to Minnesota in the first place and it was long past time for her to return home for the last three weeks of her gestation.

"Booth," Brennan said gently, her voice filled with a familiar tenderness which she reserved just for him, "We're going home together," she promised, taking his hand, reminding him that this was not just a dream. "You know me. It takes me time to make decisions, I have to think through the variables, but once I've decided on something, I don't back down."

Booth smiled at her reassurance, hanging onto her unspoken promises of a future. They _were_ heading home, but not back to what they'd been before. They were becoming a family. The very thought spurred him into unconscious action and he quickly loaded the truck and ushered her into the vehicle to the sound of her musical laughter.

***~BB~***

Booth let out a curse at the telltale _tha-whump_ of a blown tire. He glanced quickly over to Brennan, tucked adorably under his coat and curled somehow into a ball on the reclined passenger seat. Despite the noise she hadn't even stirred from her dream.

Resignedly, Booth eased the SUV quickly over to the side of the road. At 3 a.m., there was nobody on the snow-covered divided highway to lend assistance and he considered calling Triple A (he knew Brennan, the queen of thinking ahead, was a member) but his alpha male pride vetoed the option quickly. It was a tire for Christ's sake. He could handle that even if it was cold outside.

Pressing a kiss to Brennan's forehead (she squinted and made a mumbling sound, but remained asleep) Booth jumped out of the vehicle and began changing the tire as quickly as possible.

***~BB~***

Brennan dreamed of a winding dirt road leading down to a small clear pond. She dreamed of wading into the water, warmed by the summer sun overhead and relaxing onto her back, she floated and listened to the calm chirping of crickets in the tall grass and tadpoles skimming on the water's surface.

She knew she was waiting for someone but she couldn't remember who so she stayed in the water, lulled by the gentle waves the breeze was causing and the natural way the world moved around her.

The first tug of pain barely registered in her fuzzy, sleep brain: a quick, insistent ache somewhere low on her abdomen. Brennan closed her eyes tighter, determined to enjoy the stillness of this hidden pond.

And then she felt it again: a stab of pain at her middle, a painful flexing of all her inner muscles. This was much harder to ignore.

Surprised, she pulled her head up and allowed her feet to touch the ground of the pond, now grown murky with the stirring of her feet along the red clay bottom.

Brennan pressed her hands to her stomach as another jolt of pain spread through her, this time a longer and deeper ache.

"Booth," Brennan whimpered, sitting up in the deserted cab of the SUV.

Outside the vehicle she could hear a dull clicking sound that must be the man in question. The truck was stopped. Something must be wrong with it.

As a wave of pain racked her body once more she realized that there was something else to worry about. Flipping back the jacket she'd been wrapped in, she felt the warm moisture between her legs.

***~BB~***

"Booth," Brennan's voice called from the passenger door. He could hear the panic in it.

"It's fine, Bones," he told her as she made her way to where he was kneeling in an inch of snow trying to loosen the bolts on the flat tire. "We just got a flat, I'm gonna change it and we'll be on our way."

"Booth," Brennan's panic didn't seem to have lessened and he stood up to wrap his arms around her shaking form.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"I...I believe I'm in labor," she whispered urgently, resting her head onto his chest.


	24. Chapter 24

**Author: QueenyC**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bones or any of the charters or locations affiliated with it. If I did, I'd be doing more with them then posting stories in fan fiction.**

**A/N: So, I thought of being really mean and breaking my rule of 'no-cliffhangers.' But then I realized something. I am TOTALLY addicted to reader reviews. And I can't get more reviews without posting more chapters can I? For anyone who wanted two updates today, you're all lucky that I have no resolve :) Got one more chapter after this: the epilogue!**

**Chapter Twenty-Four: Getting There**

"_Booth," Brennan's voice called from the passenger door. He could hear the panic in it._

"_It's fine, Bones," he told her as she made her way to his side where he was kneeling in an inch of snow trying to loosen the bolts on the flat tire. "We just got a flat, I'm gonna change it and we'll be on our way."_

"_Booth," Brennan's panic didn't seem to have lessened and his stood up to wrap his arms around her shaking form. _

"_Hey, what's wrong?"_

"_I...I believe I'm in labor," she whispered urgently, resting her head onto his chest._

Booth felt his heart seize. "_What_?"

"I woke up to find my water broken and I've already begun contracting," she grimaced as she said the words, griping his shoulders tight enough for him to glean some of the pain she must be in.

"Oh my God, Bones," Booth felt his own hands beginning to shake. "I'll call an ambulance."

"That would be wise," Brennan nodded, "But based on the length and intensity of my contractions, I'm certain I'm already in the transition stage."

"In English, Bones."

Brennan met his eyes with silent but fearful resolve. "I'll need to start pushing very soon, Booth," she told him, "I can already feel the baby pressing towards my cervix."

"Jesus," Booth muttered, running a hand through his hair. "We're gonna have to deliver her here aren't we? In the back of a damn SUV?"

"That is a likely assessment, yes," Brennan nodded, the end of her sentence turning into a groan as she gripped his hands in pain. He literally hated to see her hurt.

"Okay, okay," He said, forcing himself to take a calming breath and control of the situation. Glancing around he determined very quickly that he'd have to get Brennan out of the elements. They couldn't very well deliver a baby in snow. "I've got it," he nodded, striding to the back of the truck and pulling open the back hatch. He pulled several towels out of his duffel and spread them along the floor before helping a trembling Brennan into the truck.

"Stay here—"

"Where—exactly—would I go—Booth," she gasped between moans.

"I'm gonna call an ambulance. I'll be right back."

***~BB~***

Brennan could only deduce that she had somehow slept fitfully through the first stage of labor, the less intense discomfort of her cervix slowly widening the first 8 centimeters. The fact was, if she was already in the transition stage, she had no illusions as to how long the remainder of her labor would be. Already she could feel the baby pressing towards her cervix, the urge to push was strong and she determined that she'd only be able to hold off until Booth returned.

"I need an ambulance," she could hear him shouting outside the vehicle. "Somewhere on 169 South, just before the 10 Exit."

Brennan pulled herself together, breathing deeply, evenly. "You certainly have an interesting sense of timing," she chided Joy gently wincing as pain wracked her body once more.

Booth opened the hatch grimacing. "They're on their way. Could be fifteen minutes."

"You hung up?" She asked, surprised. "You're supposed to stay on the line when you call an ambulance."

"We've got other things to worry about," Booth assured her. His statement was punctuated by her intense pain. "Is it...supposed to be this quick?"

Brennan glared at him. "You'd like to extend the process further?"

Booth colored, "No, I just meant, well, with Parker it took hours so..."

Brennan nodded. "First-time pregnancies often last several hours," she said, hissing in pain and gripping onto Booth's arm, "But there are always exceptions and-_ugh_-it seems that I have become an outlier."

Booth smiled grimly at her. "Always ahead of the curve, huh, Bones?"

Brennan tried to think of a snarky reply but found more urgent things on her mind. "Booth," she breathed, "I need you to check my dilation."

"Right," He nodded. "And, uh, _how_ do I do that?"

"One finger is approximately one centimeter. Ten is considered fully dilated," she explained, breathing heavily.

Color drained from Booth's face so quickly it would've been comical in different circumstances but he did as instructed with gentle, nervous hands. "I'd say we're there, babe," he concluded.

Brennan nodded. She'd expected as much. "With the next contraction," she gripped his hand tightly, "I'm going to start pushing."

"Whatever you say. You're the doctor," he agreed, nodding his head like Bobby the Bobble-head Bobbie.

"Booth," Brennan felt an uncharacteristic need for reassurance. This was not how she had envisioned bringing her daughter into the world. "I'm scared."

"I know," he nodded, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

***~BB~***

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!"

"Breathe, Bones, come on, you're almost there," Booth promised, kneeling bent in half in the cramped SUV cabin and watching as the woman he loved brought a miraculous life into the world.

"Booth, it would be best if you didn't speak. I find I'm irrationally annoyed with you right now," Brennan told him, her gorgeous face slicked with sweat, her wet hair pushed back from her face.

Booth decided not to take the words personally. "I can see her head, Bones," He told her gently, feeling tears spring into his eyes. "You are so, so close, Baby."

I can't do this," Brennan moaned. He could see how exhausted she was, see the way her arms were almost refusing to hold her up and the trembling of her legs.

"You can do anything, Bones, now _come_ _on_, Baby, just one more big push and it's all over."

He watched as resolve lit up her beautiful blue eyes and, grasping his left hand with her own, she squeezed tightly on his fingers and gave a feral, primitive scream that tore through Booth like the sharp edges of a razor.

The cabin of the SUV was suddenly filled with the keening cry of an infant as well.

***~BB~***

Beyond exhausted, Brennan let her head fall back to rest against the back of the SUV's bench seat with a deep, gasping breath. Booth leaned forward and kissed the tear tracks on her cheeks. "You did it, Bones, you were incredible," he whispered, his voice reverent.

He lay Joy against her chest, wrapping a towel around her and kissed Brennan's forehead. She saw tears in his eyes.

"I love you," she told him.

"I love you too, Temperance," he said and she loved the way her name always sounded sacred when he spoke it. She loved the way he leaned against the seat with her, pulling gently so that she was half-way cradled in his arms.

Joy, swaddled in a towel like the mythical Baby Jesus, gazed up at her with a cooing little cry. Brennan looked down at the tiny life in her arms and felt suddenly dizzy with euphoria. For the first time in her life, Brennan understood love at first sight. With the baby pressed against Brennan's chest clutching her hands in a kneading, groping instinctive way, Brennan felt the tiny thud of Joy's heart beating against her own. Her tears were unstoppable as she looked up to see Booth's face bathed in the glow of blinking red and blue emergency lights.


	25. Chapter 25

**Author: QueenyC**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bones or any of the charters or locations affiliated with it. If I did, I'd be doing more with them then posting stories in fan fiction.**

**A/N: I'm so glad you were all pleased with the last chapter. I was very worried about how it would all turn out. **

**Well, here it is! I hope you all have enjoyed reading this as much as I've enjoyed writing it. I'm almost sad to see the end of this story. If you'd like to hear more on the adventures of Booth, Brennan and Baby Joy, let me know. I've got a few Heartbeat-Universe oneshots floating around in my head plus one multi-chap case-fic which I'm working up the nerve to commit to! I'll only do them if it looks like there's interest, so let me know! **

**And on with the show!**

**Epilogue: Shiny Happy People**

"Come on Sweets, stop using Joy as an excuse to avoid manual labor," Booth teased his young friend as he passed by with a heavy cardboard box.

The Jeffersonian crew, Parker and Sweets had all gathered at Booth and Brennan's new brownstone to help them settle in and unload both Booth's truck and their own packed vehicles.

"I can't help that I'm good with children," Sweets countered, making a silly face at the happy, healthy 5-month-old baby girl in his arms.

"Only because you _are_ one," Booth replied predictably.

Sweets sighed. "I walked right into that," He acknowledged, bouncing Joy slightly in his arms so that she giggled infectiously.

"Here," Angela said, appearing at his side with a box labeled "kitchen" in Brennan's neat script. "You can take this box. It's my turn with the baby."

"She's not a heated tubersom," Brennan chided with a roll of her eyes, coming out of the house where she'd been supervising the placement of the new desk for her home office.

" It's ' hot potato,' Bones," Booth corrected, kissing her cheek as he came back down the front steps behind her for more boxes. "She's not a _hot_ _potato."_

Brennan screwed her face up in confusion. "But that's what I said!"

Booth just laughed and, with Hodgins' help, hefted the sofa out of the back of his SUV with a, "Comin' through."

Joy smiled and clapped at the procession of adults and everyone grinned appreciatively at their cheering squad.

"That's my Happy Girl," Brennan cooed, approaching Angela and the baby and pressing a kiss to the auburn curls on her head.

"God, Bren," Angela laughed, watching as Parker lifted one of the boxes to go into his new room out of Cam's trunk and followed the pathologist into the new house. Sweets trailed behind them awkwardly with the pieces of a changing table. "When did we grow up?"

"Angela, we are always growing. It is physically impossible to stop the aging process."

Angela rolled her eyes. "That's not what I meant. It's just," she shrugged, "you've got the new house and the new baby, I'm getting _married_ next week...I feel like such an adult."

Brennan laughed. "Well that's good. We are adults."

"Happy, well-adjusted adults, even," Angela nodded, bouncing Joy on her hip and eliciting another giggle before passing the baby to her mother and joining the queue of amatuer movers.

"Very happy and adjusted," Brennan agreed quietly, gazing down into the blue eyes of her daughter with a smile.


End file.
